Korea’s Intellectual Property Trial and Appeal Board considers registration, validity and the scope of patents, utility models, designs and trademarks. Appeals from examination decisions and disputes between parties require different claims and evidence. The appropriate route depends on the issue and related proceedings.
01Patents · Utility models · Designs · Trademarks
Appeal against refusal
This procedure reviews a refusal of an application. Arguments address the actual grounds, such as patent novelty and inventive step, trademark distinctiveness and similarity, or design registration requirements.
Key points to review
Review the decision, examination history, cited evidence and appeal deadline, together with any available re-examination or amendment route.
02Designs · Trademarks
Appeal against dismissal of an amendment
This appeal challenges the dismissal of an amendment, for example because it allegedly changes the substance of the original application. Its object differs from an appeal against refusal of the application itself.
Key points to review
Compare the original drawings or mark with the proposed amendment to assess continuity of identity, and coordinate the appeal with the underlying application.
03Patents · Utility models · Designs · Trademarks
Invalidation of a registration
This trial examines statutory grounds for invalidating a registered right. Relevant issues include prior art and disclosure for patents, registrability and earlier rights for trademarks, and prior designs and creative features for designs.
Key points to review
The challenger links each ground to dated evidence; the owner examines technical distinctions and evidential gaps. The effective date of invalidity depends on the ground.
04Patents · Utility models · Designs · Trademarks
Positive scope-of-rights trial
The rights holder seeks a ruling that another party’s technology, product or sign falls within the scope of the registered right. The technology, product or sign must be clearly identified and compared with the protected scope.
Key points to review
Prepare claim charts, product evidence or mark-and-goods comparisons. A scope ruling is distinct from damages or an injunction, so related court proceedings require separate planning.
05Patents · Utility models · Designs · Trademarks
Negative scope-of-rights trial
A party using or intending to use a technology, product or sign seeks a ruling that it falls outside another party’s right. This can address a warning letter or uncertainty surrounding a concrete business plan.
Key points to review
Define the actual implementation rather than an abstract plan. Examine missing elements, design or sign similarity, and any relevant freely usable prior-art defense.
06Trademarks
Cancellation of a trademark registration
This trial addresses statutory cancellation grounds such as non-use or misuse after registration. A principal non-use ground concerns lack of use in Korea on the designated goods for at least three consecutive years before filing, without justifiable reason.
Key points to review
For the defense, connect dated transactions to the user, goods and identity of the mark. Misuse raises separate issues of misleading quality or origin; cancellation effects also vary by ground.
07Patents · Utility models
Correction trial
The owner seeks permitted corrections to registered patent or utility-model claims, descriptions or drawings. Narrowing claims, correcting errors and clarifying ambiguity are possible purposes; substantive enlargement of protection is not permitted.
Key points to review
Check original disclosure, the before-and-after scope and effects on related litigation. Pending invalidation or cancellation proceedings may require a correction request within that procedure instead of a separate trial.
08Patents · Utility models
Invalidation of a correction
This trial challenges a correction that allegedly fails statutory requirements. It is distinct from invalidating the registered right itself and focuses on whether the correction stayed within permitted limits.
Key points to review
Compare the corrected text with the original disclosure for added matter or substantive expansion or alteration, keeping challenges to the correction separate from challenges to the right.
09Trademarks
Cancellation of a trademark license registration
This procedure targets a registered exclusive or non-exclusive trademark license when statutory grounds arise, such as use misleading consumers about quality or origin. The license registration, rather than the mark registration itself, is at issue.
Key points to review
Compare the license contract and registration with the permitted scope and actual labeling and sales, and assess related cancellation or contractual remedies.
10Patents · Utility models · Designs
Trial for a non-exclusive license
This trial may be relevant where working a registered right requires use of, or conflicts with, an earlier-filed right and the necessary permission cannot be obtained. A wish to use another party’s technology alone is insufficient.
Key points to review
Review dependency or conflict, licensing negotiations and applicable technical and economic conditions, including the scope and remuneration that a ruling may require.
11Patents
Invalidation of a patent-term extension
This trial challenges statutory defects in a registered patent-term extension. The validity of the original patent and the legality of the extension are separate questions, requiring review of the extension ground and period calculation.
Key points to review
Compare extension records, approvals and relevant dates, and distinguish grounds affecting the whole extension from those affecting only part of the period.
12Designs
Appeal against cancellation of a design registration
This appeal challenges a cancellation decision, including one arising from opposition to a partially examined design registration. It is distinct from refusal before registration and from a design invalidation trial.
Key points to review
Review the opposition, evidence, cancellation decision and original drawings; prepare arguments on similarity and registrability and calculate the appeal deadline from service of the decision.
