X1. Intellectual property overview

1. Intellectual property rights?

  Intellectual property rights refer to the rights to be legally protected among the results of human intellectual activities, and are broadly divided into industrial property rights, copyrights, and new intellectual property rights.

2. What are industrial property rights?

  Industrial property rights are divided into patents, utility models, design rights, and trademark rights. A patent refers to a highly advanced technical creation using the laws of nature. A utility model refers to an invention that falls within the category of practical technical improvement. Design right refers to rights related to the shape, color or combination of those, and trademark right refers to symbols, characters, figures, or combinations of those that can be distinguished from other products. Patents and design rights are 20 years from the filing date, utility models are 10 years from the filing date, and trademark rights are 10 years from the registration date, but can be renewed every 10 years.

3. What is a patent?

Patents are protections for all inventions, and according to Article 1 of the Patent Act in Korea, “to promote technological development by protecting inventions and facilitating their use to promote industrial development”. If we define 'invention' here, it is 'creation and advanced thing of technical ideas through the laws of nature', and includes abstract and objective technical ideas rather than concrete technologies.

4. Patent application

A patent is submitted by describing the invention in the form required by the Korean Intellectual Property Office. Basically, the form set by the statute includes a description of who invented the invention and who, if any, an agent, i.e., who has the rights to the patent. And a detailed description of the invention, a detailed description that can be implemented as claimed by a third party who understands and implements it, is required. Finally, a description will be included as to whether the described invention conforms to the inventive step and novelty as a patent, and whether it can be used in industry. The Korean Intellectual Property Office recognizes inventions only by those who first applied for a patent (first-to-file policy).

In summary, a patent application starts with inconvenience and hope for a thing, and the idea of ​​a solution leads to the completion of a specific design for a technical means to achieve the goal. There is a process for preparing a description of the invention in the required format, that is, preparing a specification and filing an application. Even if an invention is made, the claim to the invention depends on the document, that is, the specification submitted to the Korean Intellectual Property Office. It is better to make the claims in the specification “as broad as possible” as far as “consistent with the inventive step and novelty of the invention”.

5. Patent application process

A patent application is an act where an inventor, that is, a person who wants to obtain monopoly profits through a patent, submits a patent application document and requests a patent right for his/her invention. Examination requesst must be submitted within 3 years of filing a patent application, and legally, examinations are conducted in the order of claims (however, the order may be earlier if an express fee is paid). In the case of Korea, an application is published in one year and six months to promote the use of technology by third parties, thus, a strategic approach may be needed to decide when to request the examination.

The specification is a "text describing the invention", including the title of the invention, background technology, content of the invention, technical field, problem to be solved, effect of the invention, means of solving the problem, claims, specific content for the invention, abstract, drawings , etc. and there are legally suggested requirements. The claims typically serve as a road map of the specification and are considered the most important element when writing a specification. “The scope of the patent claims” is the premise for determining the scope of rights and determining infringement. Patent infringement refers to the practice of a 'patented invention' as a 'business' by a 'person without legitimate rights'.