Following the development and provision of an English version of PCT-ROAD in
2005, the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO, Commissioner: Sang-Woo Jun)
announced that the office provided a Spanish version of PCT- ROAD to Cuba in
March 2007 and to the Dominican Republic in May.
PCT-ROAD was developed
by KIPO at the request of the UN-affiliated World Intellectual Property
Organization (WIPO). It is a system that processes international patent
applications electronically.
Starting with Egypt, the English version of
PCT-ROAD was initially provided to seven countries in 2005. In 2006, it was
provided to six countries including Malaysia, and in 2007, it was provided to
fourteen countries, including the Republic of South Africa. During the same
year, the Spanish version was provided to Cuba and the Dominican Republic. As of
May, 2007, sixteen countries around the world are using PCT-ROAD.
Spanish is the official language of most of the Central/South American
countries, and KIPO is planning to provide the Spanish version of PCT-ROAD to
countries such as Mexico, Columbia and Nicaragua.
KIPO is currently in
discussion with patent offices to provide PCT-ROAD to countries using French.
Besides the linguistic extension of PCT-ROAD, KIPO is continuously
making efforts to improve the system quality and enhance functionality. For
example, the EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) function has been added recently.
KIPO’s efforts are expected to heighten patent information technology of Korea,
as well as increase international recognition.
PCT-ROAD is promoting the
merits of Korean IT technology and patent administration information system, as
well as leading the international standard of patent information.
Home >
