Launching the “Patent-Strong Startup Development Project” to Support Young Entrepreneurs - South Korea’s MOIP
30-Aug-2026
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Source : The South Korea’s Ministry of Intellectual Property (MOIP)
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Visits : 82
- MOIP to pursue the “Patent Examination Initiative for Providing an Appropriate Scope of Rights.”
- MOIP to expand applicant consultation in patent examination and introduce a “Registered Patent Satisfaction Survey.”
DAEJEON - The South Korea’s Ministry of Intellectual Property (MOIP), led by Minister KIM Yong Sun, announced that it will implement the “Patent Examination Initiative for Providing an Appropriate Scope of Rights*“to ensure that innovative technologies developed by Korean companies receive an appropriate scope of patent protection that reflects their technology’s actual value, through active communication with applicants, according to the official website of the Ministry.
* Scope of Rights: The scope of a patented technology that others may not use without the patent holder’s authorization.
The initiative aims to shift from “defensive examination focused on rejection,” which places priority on avoiding patents that may later be invalidated, to “value-creating examination,” which focuses on helping applicants secure patent protection that appropriately reflects the value of their innovations through accurate assessment and active communication.
Although the Republic of Korea ranks fourth in the world in the number of patent applications, industry has raised concerns that patent examination in Korea tends to take a more conservative approach to determining the scope of protection than examination in other jurisdictions. Accordingly, MOIP developed an initiative to move beyond quantitative growth centered on the number of applications and establish a high-quality patent examination system that enhances the substantive value and commercial utility of patented technologies.
Reflecting feedback from industry, the initiative will be implemented through three strategies: shifting examination goals, introducing consultative examination based on enhanced communication, and creating a more patent-friendly examination environment. Rather than simply increasing the number of patents granted, the initiative focuses on providing an appropriate scope of protection commensurate with each invention’s technical contribution and improving examination quality in ways that applicants can directly experience.
The role of examiners will be redefined from primarily identifying grounds for rejection into a to serving as a “collaborator” who works with applicants to establish an appropriate scope of protection in light of the relevant prior art. To this end, MOIP will formulate and distribute guidelines on examination procedures and standards by the end of this year to ensure that the core examination procedures and standards will be formulated and distributed (within the year) to ensure that the core technological contribution of an invention is faithfully reflected in the scope of rights.
Communication with applicants will also be further strengthened throughout the examination process. Beginning this August, MOIP will launch the “Patent-Strong Startup Development Project” for young entrepreneurs with promising technologies. The project will provide an integrated package of super-accelerated examination, pre-examination interviews, and reviews of proposed amendments. Through the project, MOIP aims to help young startups secure rights to their core technologies more quickly during the early stages of their business development.
In addition, MOIP will introduce the “Applicant Consultative Examination System” on August 21, allowing examiners and applicants to work together from an early stage of examination to determine an optimal scope of rights. If an applicant disagrees with the examiner's initial examination result and wishes to actively present opinions, the applicant may request that a panel of three examiners review the appropriateness of the proposed scope of protection.
A mechanism will also be established to reflect applicants’ feedback even after the patent has been registered. Beginning at the end of this year, MOIP will conduct a “Registered Patent Satisfaction Survey” allowing applicants to provide direct feedback on whether the scope of protection appropriately reflects the value of their technology and whether sufficient explanation and communication were provided during the examination process. Feedback collected through the survey will be continuously reflected in improvements to patent examination policy and practice.
Director General YANG Jae Seok of the Patent Examination Planning Bureau at MOIP, stated, "Examiners must move beyond the role of simply deciding whether to grant or reject a patent application and become collaborators who communicate with applicants to establish an appropriate scope of protection reflecting the technical contribution of an invention. MOIP will continue to provide high-quality patent examination that delivers tangible benefits to the public and businesses, so that the innovative technologies of companies can receive due recognition for their value and strengthen their competitiveness both domestically and in global markets.“