South Korea Further Accelerates Patent Examination: AI and Bio Startups to Benefit from One-Month Ultra-Fast Track

Release Time：2026-03-12 09:06Author：Views：191

South Korea officially launched an ultra-fast examination track for startups in the AI and advanced biotechnology sectors on February 23, enabling eligible companies to receive examination results within one month. The initiative is designed to address the rapid technological advancements and intense market competition in these fields, helping startups secure core technology patents more quickly.

At the same time, the scope of priority examination has been significantly expanded. Reflecting South Korea's rapid growth in AI and advanced bio sectors, priority examination—previously limited to specific AI subfields such as artificial intelligence neural networks—will now extend to physical AI and advanced biotechnologies including synthetic biology. These areas are regarded by the Korean government as national strategic priorities, and related patent applications will benefit from substantially reduced waiting times.

Data shows that, last year, the overall average patent examination waiting period was 14.7 months, priority examination took 2.1 months, and ultra-fast examination was completed within one month. Through measures such as significantly expanding examination personnel, the overall examination waiting time is expected to decrease from 14.7 months last year to 14 months this year.

Looking ahead, the Ministry of Intellectual Property plans to further reduce the average patent examination period to 10 months and the trademark examination period to 6 months by 2029.

Alongside faster examination, three key measures will be implemented: improvement of the patent cancellation request system, introduction of a pre-notification system for patent invalidation decisions, and establishment of a presumption of validity provision. For more details, please refer to the following link: https://www.moip.go.kr/en/engBultnDetail.do?c=1003&board_id=kiponews&catmenu=ek06_01_01&seq=1828.

Source： https://www.moip.go.kr/en

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