Misleading patent numbers on the boxes of some products have
occasionally resulted in customer confusion. Imagine, for example, you bought an
appliance that sported a label reading “Patent No. 10-○○○○-○○○○○○○.“ The notion
that the product contained patented technology might increase your confidence in
the purchase. However, what if you later discovered that the company you bought
the appliance from had not actually acquired the patent yet? Perhaps what you
thought was a patent registration number was, in reality, nothing more than the
application number that the company received upon submitting its patent request.
Application numbers look virtually identical to registration numbers, apart from
having fewer digits.
On July 29th, KIPO implemented its revised
enforcement rules of the Patent Act. These rules require that products
undergoing the examination phase of the patenting process be marked “under
examination.” This will help prevent consumers from becoming confused or misled
as to whether the product has truly been patented.
KIPO’s revisions to
the enforcement rules of the Patent Act also allow applicants to claim a grace
period* at any time prior to the patent being registered. Previously, an
applicant could only claim a grace period at the time of filing his/her patent
application, resulting in cases where premature disclosure of an applicant’s
invention led to his or her patent application being rejected due to the grace
period having accidentally gone unclaimed.
KIPO also allows applicants
to file divisional applications** once the registration decision has been made,
thereby enabling applicants to better patent their inventions according to
market circumstances and their own convenience.
Director General Jang Wanho
of KIPO’s Patent Examination Policy Bureau stated that the revised enforcement
rules will help prevent companies from misleading those members of the public
who lack experience with the patent system. He went on to say that the rules add
flexibility to the patent system by providing applicants with greater leeway
throughout the patent application process.
*Grace period: If an
invention is disclosed before the patent application is filed, the invention
cannot be patented. However, an invention that is already disclosed can be
patented if a grace period is claimed at the time of filing.
**Divisional
application: If a patent application comprises multiple inventions, applicants
may divide it into two or more separate applications.
The source of the article: KIPO (www.kipo.go.kr) - July 31, 2015