1. 'International design application system to change from this year'

According to the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the general rules of The Hague, which have been changed and come into effect from January next year, require that if you do not submit documents to the WIPO International Secretariat within the specified time limit due to force majeure such as epidemics such as Corona 19 or natural disasters, you can receive relief by submitting relevant evidence. In addition, the period for the International Bureau to examine the relevant documents for defects before undergoing substantive examination in the country designated by the applicant for design registration has been extended from 6 months to 12 months. The procedure for changing the name of the applicant in the International Register has also been simplified, so in the past, it was necessary to attach a document issued by the relevant government office in the country to which the applicant belongs. However, in the future, documents proving that the new right holder is a legitimate successor will be submitted. Samsung Electronics, a Korean company, applied for 859 applications last year, making it the third largest company in the world after China and the European Union to use the Hague international filing system.

2. "Easier to acquire trademark rights for individuals, small businesses, and small and medium-sized enterprises(SME)"

According to the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the revised law is scheduled to be promulgated in February, and the 'partial rejection system/reexamination request system' will be implemented one year after the promulgation, and the 'extension of the types of trademark use behavior' will be implemented from the date 6 months after the promulgation.

In the amended Act, if there is a reason for rejection only for some designated products, even if the applicant does not take separate measures such as deletion of the product, products without a reason for rejection can be registered for trademark. It is designed to help individuals and small business applicants who are not familiar with the trademark registration application procedure and system and cannot properly respond to the notice of reasons for rejection due to time and cost issues. The convenience of the applicant has been improved by making it possible to file a request for an appeal against only some of the products that were decided to be rejected, and to withdraw the request for a trial for some of the items requested for adjudication. In cases where the grounds for rejection can be easily resolved, a procedure for requesting a reexamination from the examiner has been newly established in addition to requesting an appeal trial, expanding the opportunity for applicants to overcome the rejection decision.

3. “Establishment of national core technology management system...Strengthening overseas leakage and protection system”

Starting this year, the Korean Intellectual Property Office plans to strengthen the prevention and protection system for overseas leaks by establishing a support program to help the systematic management of national core technologies.

It announced on the 23rd that it would start building a database (DB) by investing 1.3 million dollar to analyze the relevance of new patent applications to national core technologies and to assign industry-related classification codes.

Accordingly, the Korean Intellectual Property Office decided to establish a management system for 73 core technologies in 12 fields, including semiconductors, displays, and shipbuilding, selected by the Ministry of Industry. First, the core technology-related patent classification (CPC) related new applications are subjected to qualitative analysis on a case-by-case basis to match whether they are actually related to the core technology and the field.

Then, the core technology matching result is inspected and the degree of relevance of the core technology (high, middle, low) is analyzed. Sophisticated analysis of patent big data related to core technology is possible.

Patents classified as actual core technologies are given classification codes for in-depth and multifaceted analysis (HSK), Korean Standard Industrial Classification (KSIC), and National Science and Technology Standards classification codes.

Statistical analysis of the accumulated core technology-related patents is carried out by constructing a DB including the status of overseas patents and application matters (registration, rejection, etc.).

4. “Intellectual property experts dispatched to Saudi Arabia to promote 35 tasks over two years”

According to the Korean Intellectual Property Office on the 19th, on the occasion of President Moon Jae-in's visit to Saudi Arabia (Saudi Arabia), the 'Agreement for Enhanced Strategic Partnership' was signed at the meeting of the Korean Intellectual Property Office Commissioners' Meeting held at 3 pm local time on the 17th, local time on the 18th. They were exchanged at the 'Korea-Saudi Smart Innovation Growth Forum' attended by President Moon Jae-in and companies from both countries. Cooperation in the field of intellectual property between the two countries began in earnest when the Korean Intellectual Property Office and the Korean Intellectual Property Office signed a cooperation contract in the presence of the leaders of the two countries when Saudi Crown Prince bin Salman visited Korea in June 2019. Accordingly, the Korean Intellectual Property Office dispatched a total of 19 (cumulative) private and public intellectual property experts to the Saudi Intellectual Property Office to develop a national intellectual property strategy tailored to the local situation in Saudi Arabia, and to ensure that patent and trademark examiners conduct high-quality examinations. 1:1 customized training was provided. In addition, the administrative system has been improved, such as establishing a roadmap for legal reorganization and information system establishment in the field of intellectual property. Based on the past achievements, the agreement signed is △ Intellectual property ecosystem creation △ Patent examination △ National intellectual property strategy △ Intellectual property academy (education) △ It specifically specified 35 projects in 5 areas, such as the informatization of intellectual property, that the two offices will focus on. To effectively implement this, 11 Korean intellectual property experts will be dispatched for two years.