1. Establishment of the Separate Application System

Even if the final rejection by the examiner is maintained by the decision of an IP Trial and Appellate Board, the applicant may re-file another application within 30 days from receiving date of the decision, after separating a part of the application that is registrable.

2. Re-file for the Revision of an Invention

If the first invention was revised, even though the patent application passed through the examination and the notice for the patent grant was issued, if the applicant did not pay the grant fees, the applicant may file a revised patent application claiming priority right based on the filing date in Korea.

3. Expansion of a Subject for Re-examination

Until now, the re-examination was available only for a patent application which was rejected by an examiner.

Hereinafter, if a patent application was not registered, even though the notice for patent grant was issued, the applicant may demand reexamination even for a registrable patent application.

Further, the period for demanding reexamination was extended to three months.

4. Extension of Trial Demand Period against a Decision of Rejection of a Patent Application (same as patent, design and trademark)

The trial demand period against a decision of rejection of a patent application by the examiner was extended from 30 days to 3 months.

5. Strengthening of Ex Officio Re-examination by the Examiner for Trademark and Design

Even if a decision of registration for a trademark or design application was decided by an examiner, if the examiner finds a clear reason for rejection before the payment of the registration fee, the examiner can cancel the decision of registration and examine again, ex officio, in order to avoid conflicts by blocking the occurrence of weak rights having reasons for invalidation in advance.