1. 12.3% increase in intellectual property applications in the first half of 2021… Expected to exceed 600,000 this year

In spite of the coronavirus infection (Corona 19), domestic intellectual property applications such as patents, utility models, designs, and trademarks have increased significantly this year, mainly by small and medium-sized enterprises and venture companies.

According to the Korean Intellectual Property Office on the 14th, domestic intellectual property applications in the first half of the year totaled 288,135, up 12.3% from the same period last year.

The number of trademarks, which showed a rapid increase of 18.9%, was 143,652 cases (18.9%), and patents also showed a high increase rate of 106,657 cases (7.4%). The number of designs increased by 31,724 (3.8%), and the number of utility models decreased by 8.8% to 2,102 cases.

A total of 87,729 applications for SMEs and venture companies were filed, a 18.6% increase from the same period last year. Individuals increased by 13.7%, while public research institutes and large companies only increased by 6.7% and 0.3%, respectively.

The Korean Intellectual Property Office said, "If the current trend continues, the number of intellectual property applications will exceed 600,000 for the first time this year."

2. From July next year, international patent applications will be unified through the Internet web method.

As the renewal of the existing electronic application software is terminated, from July next year, international patent applications through the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) will be unified through the 'Internet Web Application' (ePCT) method.

According to the Korean Intellectual Property Office on August 10, current PCT filing customers use two electronic filing methods. It is a method to fill out and submit application documents by using the electronic application software (PCT-SAFE) provided by WIPO or by accessing the WIPO website (ePCT).

As WIPO has decided to unify the ePCT method for user convenience and efficient application system operation, it will stop updating the existing electronic application software from July next year.

The Korean Intellectual Property Office announced that WIPO had agreed to introduce a special program that exclusively supports services such as hiring Korean ePCT experts directly from WIPO and providing instructions on how to use it only for Korean customers and education on changes in PCT-related laws and systems.

3. Government “Reduction of domestic COVID-19 vaccine patent examination from 14 months to 2 months”

The government announced on the 29th that it would reduce the period of patent examination for related domestic applications from one year and two months to two months to support domestic pharmaceutical companies in developing a domestic COVID-19 vaccine. The Ministry of Health and Welfare, the Korean Intellectual Property Office, and the Korea Health Industry Development Institute reported this at the 'Covid-19 vaccine-related patent analysis online briefing' held for domestic vaccine development companies and research institutes on the same day. The briefing session was prepared for the Korean Intellectual Property Office to share the progress related to the domestic COVID-19 vaccine with vaccine companies and research institutes. The Korean Intellectual Property Office introduced the intermediate analysis result of patent information for each production process expected when a Korean company develops and produces an mRNA (messenger ribonucleic acid) COVID-19 vaccine in Korea and the patent priority examination system for a new Corona 19 vaccine.

From July 23, the Korean Intellectual Property Office has been implementing a system that prioritizes patents applied by companies that develop or produce COVID-19 vaccines. Using this system, the patent examination period, which took an average of 14 months, will be drastically reduced to 2 months.

4. "Bridge design of idea-level is difficult to be protected as a copyrighted work"

When judging the intellectual property rights of the bridge design, the court found that it was difficult to protect the design of the idea level as a copyrighted work. The court also pointed out that "the functional nature of bridges means that there is a limit to the area where creativity can be expressed, as the shape and structure that are normally found in arch bridges and cable-stayed bridges are inevitably similar to some extent." On the 6th, the Civil Agreement Part 51 of the Seoul Southern District Court (Chief Judge Kim Tae-eop) decided to dismiss the plaintiff's application in the case of an application for an injunction against copyright infringement filed by EDI Environmental Design against Barum Design and others. The court said, "It is insufficient to conclude that the conceptual design of the idea provided to the design company is a work subject to protection under the Copyright Act." Next, the court explained, "It is only a design in the conception stage that focuses on aesthetic expression such as shape, color, and composition, and it is difficult to see it as a design with functionality enough to start building immediately."