In Europe, the preamble of "use" recited in claims is commonly accepted as the so-called "Swiss type claim", but it is not acceptable due to a claim description format violation in Korea.

In this regard, this type of claim is frequently encountered when the expressions "Use of ~" or "Use for ~" are in the English claims sent by European clients. These are generally referred to as "Swiss type claims". However, the so-called "Swiss type claim", as expressed in a manner of "Use of ~" or "Use for ~", which is generally used as a preamble in Europe, is not acceptable in Korea.

For example, if a new medicinal use of a compound X is discovered and sought to be protected by a use invention, in Europe a claim concerning a use invention can be defined in the format of a Swiss type claim as shown in the following Example 1. However, in Korea a claim concerning a use invention should be defined in the format of "pharmaceutical composition for treating a specific disease Y comprising a compound X as an effective ingredient" in place of Swiss type claim. Please refer to the following examples 1-3.

Example 1: Acceptable in Europe but not allowable in Korea

① Use of a compound X (or composition X) for treating a disease Y ~;

→ not allowable in Korea

② Use of a compound X (or composition X) for the manufacture of a medicament for therapeutic application Z ~; and

→ not allowable in Korea

③ Use of a compound X in the manufacture of a pharmaceutical composition for treating a disease Y ~.

→ not allowable in Korea

Example 2: Acceptable in Europe but generally rejected in Korea due to lacking novelty and/or an inventive step

① Method for manufacturing a medicament for therapeutic application Z, characterized in that a compound X is used ~; and

② Method for manufacturing a pharmaceutical composition for treating a disease Y, characterized in that a compound X is used ~.

Since claims as shown in Example 2 are regarded in Korea as method claims for manufacturing a medicine, the claim description format of Example 2 is formally accepted by the Korean Industrial Property Office ("KIPO"). However, the claims of Example 2 are typically rejected due to lacking novelty and/or an inventive step by the KIPO if a compound X is not novel. Nevertheless, if the compound X is novel, or the manufacturing method adopts a different process from any other conventional process and a remarkable effect is recognized from the process, the claims of Example 2 are exceptionally allowable in Korea.

Example 3: Acceptable example of claim amendment in Korea concerning a swiss type claim

A pharmaceutical composition for treating a disease Y comprising a compound X.