Recently, the KIPO revised the Regulations on the Handling of Patent and Utility Model Examination Affairs to change the priority order for initiating the examination of divisional applications and to shorten the examination period for applications submitted through the Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH). These changes aim to enhance convenience for applicants.

▶Changes to the Examination Priority of a Divisional Application

Previously, under the KIPO’s examination procedure, the initiation of a divisional application examination followed the order of the examination request for the parent application. However, as the number of divisional applications increased, it caused a backlog in the examination of regular applications. Moreover, there were frequent cases where the examination result of a divisional application was issued before even the final examination result of its 3 parent application became available (e.g., when a placeholder-type divisional application was filed along with an appeal against a final rejection of the parent application). As a result, applicants often had to request multiple extensions of time for the divisional application to wait for the outcome of the parent application.

Addressing these issues, since January 1, 2025, divisional applications are now examined according to the order in which a request for examination for the divisional application itself is submitted, aligning with the practices of major jurisdictions, such as the United States and Japan. This change is aimed to expedite the examination of regular patent applications.

Under the revised practice, applicants are now advised to strategically pursue their desired claim scopes through divisional applications after the registration of the parent patent, including drafting claims based on technical trends, securing standard-essential patents, and the like. Applicants who wish to expedite the grant of patent rights for their divisional applications may utilize an expedited examination system such as the PPH program.

▶Reduction of Examination Period for PPH

Additionally, the examination period for applications under the PPH has been reduced from four (4) months to three (3) months for applications filed on or after January 1, 2025. This change aligns with ongoing PPH improvements in other jurisdictions, such as the United States and Japan, and is expected to accelerate the acquisition of patent rights in Korea.

▶Direct Allowance by the Patent Trial and Appeal Board

Starting January 1, 2025, the Intellectual Property Trial and Appeal Board (IPTAB) announced procedural changes for appeals against final rejections for patents and design registrations. If the IPTAB determines that the registration decision is justified and there are no additional issues to be addressed, it may, on its own motion, issue a Notice of Allowance directly. Previously, when an appeal was upheld, the case was remanded to the KIPO examiner, requiring the KIPO examiner to conduct a re-examination. This procedural improvement is designed to prevent delays in registration and reduce repetitive proceedings. Cases requiring further examination, such as those involving unexamined issues or newly identified grounds for rejection, will still be remanded to, and reexamined by, the KIPO examiners. This change is expected to enable applicants to secure patent rights more quickly while reducing the examination burden of the KIPO.