Korea-Europe Propose 'Examination Criteria' for AI Inventions... Utilized for Establishing International Standards

Provided by the Korean Intellectual Property Office

[Asia Economy (Daejeon) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] The Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) and the European Patent Office (EPO) plan to publicly disclose examination standards for inventions obtained through artificial intelligence, enabling these to be used as reference materials in the future development of international examination standards.

On the 7th, the Patent Office announced that it will hold a video conference with the European Patent Office at the Government Complex Daejeon.

During the meeting, the heads of the two patent offices agreed to publicly disclose their respective examination standards and case reports regarding inventions using computers or software, such as artificial intelligence and business methods (Computer Implemented Inventions, hereinafter referred to as ‘computer-related inventions’).

The reports include application procedures and methods at both patent offices, as well as examples of the application of examination standards by field related to computer-related inventions.

The Patent Office expects that applicants will be able to respond more effectively to potential difficulties encountered during the application and examination process of computer-related inventions by referring to these materials.

In particular, the report systematically organizes the similarities and differences in examination standards between the two patent offices concerning computer-related inventions, which the Patent Office anticipates will serve as useful reference materials when discussing future international examination standards.

The report is scheduled to be publicly available in Korean and English on the websites of the Korean Intellectual Property Office and the European Patent Office starting at 9 a.m. on the 8th.

Kim Yong-rae, Commissioner of the Korean Intellectual Property Office, stated, “Applications for computer-related inventions have been increasing globally recently, and international cooperation to establish international examination standards is meaningful in terms of enhancing convenience for applicants. Starting with cooperation with the European Patent Office, the Patent Office will expand exchanges with other major patent offices and lead international discussions on examination standards for computer-related inventions.”

Meanwhile, during the meeting, the heads of the two patent offices also signed a patent cooperation plan to be pursued over the next two years.

The cooperation plan includes ▲ joint research on specification requirements for AI inventions ▲ educational cooperation to enhance examiners’ capabilities ▲ discussions on utilizing artificial intelligence to improve the efficiency of patent administration.