Korean Intellectual Property Office Public Relations

PCT

[as ISA/IPEA] What is the bank information for the payment of fees for PCT-related procedures?

For an international application under the PCT, an applicant can pay fees to KIPO directly through wire transfer. For the transfer of any fees to KIPO, please refer to the following bank information.

Swift code: NACFKRSE
Name of bank: National Agricultural Cooperative Federation, Government Complex Daejeon Branch
Account number: 676-01-011484
Name of beneficiary: KIPO

You may also use this information for the payment of the other fees related to PCT procedures of the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) as an International Searching Authority and/or International Preliminary Examining Authority.

When transferring fees to the ISA/KR and/or IPEA/KR, please take note of the following matters:

1. The PCT international application number should be indicated and it is strongly recommended to indicate the name of the invitation/notification concerned.
2. The sender's charges which have to be paid by the sender should be considered for the purpose of transferring the exact amounts of the fees.

* ISA : International Searching Authority
* IPEA : International Preliminary Examining Authority
[as ISA/IPEA] Please explain the procedures of a request for rectification of an obvious mistake

According to Rule 91 of the Regulations under the PCT, an applicant can submit a request for rectification to the competent authority within 26 months from the priority date.

However, under PCT Rule 91.1(c), the competent authority has the responsibility to authorize the rectification and will do so "if, and only if, it is obvious to the competent authority that...something else was intended than what appears in the document concerned and that nothing else could have been intended than the proposed rectification".

An applicant can submit the documents via fax or regular mail to the Industrial Property International Application Division of KIPO.
PCT Part, Industrial Property International Application Division
Korean Intellectual Property Office
Government Complex Daejeon
139 Cheongsa-ro, Seo-gu,
Daejeon 302-701
Republic of Korea

Fax number: +82-42-472-7140

* ISA : International Search Authority
* IPEA : International Preliminary Examination Authority
[as ISA/IPEA] If I file a PCT application in English, will correspondence from KIPO be sent in English? (E.g. the search report, IPRP, etc) Will there be any translation fees for filing in English?

If you file an international PCT application in English, all correspondence from KIPO will be in English. You will not have to translate them into English.

* ISA : International Search Authority
* IPEA : International Preliminary Examination Authority
[as IPEA] Is KIPO (Korean Intellectual Property Office) designated as the IPEA by USPTO?

KIPO can act as the International Preliminary Examining Authority in cases where the USPTO is the receiving office.

If you have further questions or need further information about the process, please feel free to contact the Industrial Property International Application Division of KIPO at kipopct@kipo.go.kr.

* ISA : International Search Authority
* IPEA : International Preliminary Examination Authority
[as DO/EO] What is the due date for filing the Korean translation of PCT international application?

Under Article 201 of the Korean Patent Law, an applicant should submit the Korean translation of a PCT international application within 31 months of the priority date. You can get more information about the Korean Patent Law at the following website.

Patent Law

* DO : Designated office
* EO : Elected office
[as DO/EO] Should the ENTIRE priority document which includes a certified copy of the priority application be translated into Korean in the national phase?

An applicant should submit the Korean translation of the priority document where the examiner finds the document is needed for the purpose of substantive examination and invites an applicant to submit that document.

* DO : Designated office
* EO : Elected office
[as DO/EO] Could you please let me know the deadlines for making voluntary amendments to a patent application.

Article 47 and 208 of the Korean Patent Law outline the deadlines for making amendments to PCT applications.

Article 47 Amendment of Patent Application

(1) An applicant may amend the description or drawing(s) attached to a patent application before the examiner issues a certified copy of a decision to grant a patent under Article 66.
However, in the following circumstances, if the applicant makes an amendment, the amendment must be made within the periods designated in the following subparagraphs:

(i) where an applicant first receives notification of the reasons for refusal under Article 63 (referred to as "a notice of the reasons for refusal") or receives a notice of the reasons for refusal that does not apply under paragraph (ii), the period is that designated for submitting arguments against the notice of the reasons for refusal;
(ii) where an applicant receives a notice of the reasons for refusing an amendment made in response to a notice of the reasons for refusal issued under paragraph (i), the period is that designated for submitting arguments in response to the notice; or
(iii) where an applicant requests a trial against a decision to refuse a patent under Article 132ter, the period is thirty days after the filing date of the request.

(2) An amendment to a description or drawing(s) under paragraph (1) must be within the scope of the features disclosed in the description or drawing(s) originally attached to the application.

(3) An amendment to the claim(s) made under paragraphs (1)(ii) and (iii) must be limited to the scope prescribed in any of the following subparagraphs, and where an amendment is made under subparagraph (iii), it must be limited to the scope indicated by the examiner in the notice of the reasons for refusal:

(i) to narrow a claim;
(ii) to correct a clerical error; or
(iii) to clarify an ambiguous description.

(4) An amendment made within the period designated in paragraph 1(ii) and (iii) must meet the following requirements:

(i) an amendment to a description or drawing(s) must neither substantially expand nor modify the scope of the claim(s); and
(ii) the matters described in the claim(s) after an amendment must have been patentable when the patent application was filed.

Article 208 Special Provision on Amendment

(1) Notwithstanding Article 47(1), no amendment to an international patent application (except an amendment under Article 204(2) and 205(2)) may be made until the fees prescribed under Article 82(1) have been paid, a translation of the application (except for an international patent application made in the Korean language) under Article 201(1) has been submitted, and the relevant date (which, if the relevant date is the date on which a request is made to examine the patent application, refers to the time of day on which the request to examine the patent application is made) has passed.

(2) Deleted.

(3) With regard to the scope of an amendment made to an international patent application, "the features disclosed in the description or the drawing(s) originally attached to the application" in Article 47(2) reads "the features disclosed in the description, claim(s) or the drawing(s) (only the textual matter therein) of the international patent application submitted on the international filing date and in the translated version or the features disclosed in the drawing(s) (except in the textual matter of the drawing(s)) of the international patent application".

* DO : Designated office
* EO : Elected office

Last updated 11 April 2023
International Cooperation Division
(Patent Legal Administration Division)