Transitional provisions: grace period

Article 22, Article 59, Article 122 and Article 142 amended on December 30, 2016 shall be applicable only to patent applications filed after the implementation of the said amendment to this Act.

Transitional provisions: pending patent application for associated design

In respect of a patent application for associated design that is still pending at the time of the implementation of the November 29, 2011, amendment of this Act, the provisions of this Act prior to amendment with respect to associated design patent shall apply.

In respect of a patent application for associated design that is still pending at the time of the implementation of the November 29, 2011, amendment of this Act, if the patent application for associated design is filed prior to the publication of its original patent application for design, the applicant may file a request to convert it to a patent application for derivative design within three (3) months after the implementation of the amended Act.

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Transitional provisions: pending applications

Unless otherwise provided for in the Act, for a patent application which is still pending at the time of the implementation of the April 16, 2019, amendment to this Act, the amended Patent Act shall apply.

With respect to a request for post-grant amendment and invalidation action which is still pending at the time of the implementation of the April 16, 2019, amendment to this Act, the amended Patent Act shall apply.

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Transitional provisions: Divisional application after rendering a decision of patent application

With respect to an examination decision on patent application for invention or utility model rendered prior to the implementation of the April 16, 2019, amendment to this Act, if the corresponding time period set forth in Subparagraph 2, Paragraph 2 of Article 34 or Subparagraph 2, Paragraph 2 of Article 107 has not expired, Subparagraph 2, the amended Patent Act shall apply.

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Transitional provisions: patent term of design patent

With respect to the term of a design paten, when the term of the patent has not expired prior to the implementation of the April 16, 2019, amendment to this Act, the amended Patent Act shall apply.

With respect to the term of a design patent, when the patent right has become extinguished pursuant to Subparagraph 3, Paragraph 1 of Article 70 applicable mutatis mutandis under Paragraph 1 of Article 142 prior to the implementation of the April 16, 2019, amendment to this Act, and then has been reinstated through an application made according to Paragraph 2 of Article 70 applicable mutatis mutandis under Paragraph 1 of Article 142 after the implementation of the April 16, 2019, amendment to this Act, the amended Patent Act shall apply.

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Substantial conditions

An invention which is industrially applicable may be granted a patent upon application in accordance with this Act, except for the following:

1. the invention was disclosed in a printed publication prior to the filing of the patent application;
2. the invention was publicly exploited prior to the filing of the patent application; or
3. the invention was publicly known prior to the filing of the patent application.

An invention that is without the circumstances prescribed in the subparagraphs of the preceding paragraph but can be easily made by a person ordinarily skilled in the art based on prior art shall not be patented .

A disclosure made by or against the applicant’s will shall not be deemed as one of the circumstances that would preclude the grant of an invention patent prescribed in the subparagraphs of Paragraph 1 or the preceding paragraph, provided that the concerned patent application is filed within twelve (12) months after the date of the disclosure.

For the publication in a gazette made in this country or a foreign country in accordance with the laws as the consequence of filing a patent application and made by the applicant’s will, the preceding paragraph is not applicable.

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Limitations of patent right

The effects of an invention patent right shall not extend to the following circumstances:

1. acts done privately and for non-commercial purpose(s);
2. necessary acts to exploit the invention for research or experimental purpose(s);
3. acts done by a person who has been exploiting the invention or making all the necessary preparations for doing such act in this country before the filing date of the invention. However, this provision shall not apply where the person has learned of the invention from the patent applicant for less than twelve (12) months and the patent applicant has made a statement reserving his/her right to a patent being granted;
4. a vehicle merely passing through the territory of this country, or any device of such vehicle;
5. where a patent granted to a person not the owner of the right to apply for a patent is revoked as a result of an invalidation action filed by the patentee, acts done by a licensee who has, prior to invalidation, been exploiting the invention or making all the necessary preparations to do such an act in good faith;
6. where, after the sale of a patented product made by the patentee or made under consent of the patentee, using or reselling such product. The making and selling as stated above are not limited to acts done domestically; and
7. where, after an invention patent is extinguished pursuant to Subparagraph 3, Paragraph 1 of Article 70 and before it is reinstated and published pursuant to Paragraph 2 of Article 70, acts done by a person who has been exploiting the invention or making all the necessary preparations to do such an act in good faith. "The person exploiting the invention as stated in Subparagraphs 3, 5, and 7 of the preceding paragraph, may continue such exploitation within the original business purpose(s).

A licensee as stated in Subparagraph 5 of Paragraph 1, who continues to exploit the invention after the patent is revoked, shall pay the patentee a reasonable royalty from the date of receiving a written notice from the patentee.

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