It Took a Year to Review, but Patent Invalidity Rate Nearly 50%... Twice That of the US

No Yong-ho, a member of the People Power Party, is attending the floor strategy meeting held at the National Assembly on the 24th and delivering a greeting. Following Minister Lee Young's resignation from the position of member of the National Assembly, No succeeded to the proportional representation seat./Photo by Yoon Dong-ju doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] It has been revealed that half of the patent trial requests over the past five years resulted in invalidation rulings.

According to data submitted by the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) to Rep. Noh Yong-ho of the People Power Party, a member of the National Assembly's Industry, Trade, Energy, Small and Medium Enterprises Committee, the invalidation rate of patents requested for invalidation trials over the past five years (2017?2021) was 46.8%, close to half. This figure is twice that of the United States (25.3%).

If grounds for invalidation arise for a registered patent right, the Patent Court adjudicates through patent invalidation trials. Since patent invalidation directly and indirectly has a significant impact on corporate survival, KIPO must make every effort to prevent invalid patents through thorough examination.

Rep. Noh stated, "If a patent that has been recognized after a long wait becomes invalid, the economic damage to the public and companies can snowball," and added, "To reduce losses caused by excessive patent disputes, KIPO must strengthen its examination capabilities and secure credibility for domestic patents."

Meanwhile, the examination period at KIPO has been increasing every year. To shorten the examination period and strengthen examination capabilities, KIPO increased the number of examiners from 866 in 2017 to 953 in 2021; however, the average processing time per patent increased by about two months, from 10.4 months in 2017 to 12.2 months in 2021.