The Republic of Korea Amended the Enforcement Rule of the Design Protection Act

Release Time：2025-02-28 10:39Author：Views：389

The Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) has announced the partial amendments to the Enforcement Rule of the Design Protection Act, effective February 12, 2025. The aim of the amendments is to ensure accurate identification of the true creator in design applications and to improve the efficiency of national R&D achievement management.

Amendments

The revised design patent regulations introduce stricter protocols for modifying listed creators to prevent fraudulent practices. Key changes include:

1. Timing Restrictions: Applicants are prohibited from adding new creators between the registration decision and final registration (post-fee payment). However, corrections are permitted for unchanged creator identities (e.g., name revisions, typo fixes, or address updates). Additions may only occur before the registration decision or after final registration.

2. Documentation Requirements: Supporting documents for corrections, previously submitted post-registration, must now be provided during the examination phase to enhance accuracy.

3. Verification Process: All corrections require a written explanation of the reason for modification and a confirmation document signed/sealed by both the applicant and affected creators. For example, correcting creators from A and B to A and C necessitates signatures/seals from the applicant, B (removed creator), and C (added creator).

4. Effective Date: These rules apply to correction requests submitted on or after February 12, 2025.

Additionally, filing requirements for national R&D design achievements have been simplified. Unnecessary fields, such as contribution ratios, were removed, and critical notices were added to improve administrative efficiency.

The full text of this partial amendment can be accessed on the KIPO website (www.kipo.go.kr) or Korean Law Information Center (www.law.go.kr).

Information source: https://www.kipo.go.kr/en/engBultnDetail.do

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