If your patent receives a notice of grant, you will have to register the patent by paying renewal fees for years 1 to 3 upfront along with the grant fee to the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO). The renewal fees for the patent’s first 3 years have to be settled upfront within 3 months from the notice of grant. From thereon, the first renewal fee will be due 4 years from the registration date, NOT the filing date.
For example, the filing date of a patent is 2015-09-17, and the grant date of the patent is 2017-11-20, and the patent was registered by paying renewal fees for years 1 to 3 along with the grant fee on 2017-11-14. Years 1 to 3 are paid upfront upon registration on 2017-11-14. You will only have to settle the 4th annuity on 2020-11-14.
In South Korea, the patent renewal fee is paid from year 4. It is worth noting that In South Korea you need to pay an additional renewal fee for each claim depending on the number of claims your patent application has.
For example, if a patent has an annuity due for year 4 as well as 11 claims, the formula will go as follows:
(40000.00 KRW for year 4) + (22000.00 x 11) = 282000.00 KRW
In South Korea, there are two kinds of intellectual property types.
Intellectual Property Type #1 - Utility Models
The duration of a utility model is 10 years from the date of filing for utility models filed on or after 1999-07-01. The renewal fees for the first 3 years must be paid as registration fees, upon the grant of the utility model right. A utility model right can be maintained by paying renewal fees.
Intellectual Property Type #2 - Designs
The duration of a design right is 20 years from the date of filing. The renewal fees for the first three years must be paid as registration fees upon the grant of the design right. From thereon, an industrial design right can be maintained by paying renewal fees annually from year 4 until year 20. You will have to pay renewal fees for each registered design in multiple design applications. If the renewal fee is not paid by the due date, You can make a ‘late renewal’ up to 6 months after the renewal date by paying a higher fee.
For further clarification, please refer to the fee breakdown below;
The renewal fees for the first 3 years of a patent, need to be settled upfront as registration fees, and has to be done within 3 months from the grant notice. From thereon, annual fees for the 4th year and those to follow will need to be settled in order to maintain the patent.
For example, the filing date of a patent is 2015-09-17, and the grant date of the patent is 2017-11-20, and the patent was registered by paying renewal fees for years 1 to 3 along with the grant fee on 2017-11-14. Years 1 to 3 are paid upfront upon registration on 2017-11-14. You will only have to settle the 4th annuity on 2020-11-14.
In South Korea, no annuity payments are needed for pending applications.
The renewal fees from the 4th year onwards fall on the anniversary of the registration date. There is no specified payment window before which the renewal fees must be paid. The renewal fees can be paid anytime before the due date.
Yes, it is possible to renew a South Korean patent after its deadline. A 6-month grace period is given from the patent’s renewal due date whereby, the renewal fees can still be settled. However, when entering the grace period you will incur a 18% surcharge for late payment. If you fail to meet the deadline for payment of the annual fees as well as the 6-month grace period, the patent will lapse.
You can appoint a local council, who is registered with the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO). Alternatively, if you have a residential address in Korea, the renewal fees can be settled via bank transfer, electronic billing system or, by postal money order.
Once a patent in South Korea has been granted, you have the option to maintain the patent by paying for its renewal fees every subsequent year, starting from year 4. By settling the patent’s annual renewal fees, the patent is guaranteed to last for 20 years from the date of filing. In short, a patent will last for 20 years from its date of filing, provided that it gets granted.
You can get in touch with the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) via email or phone:
Email: kipoicd@korea.kr
Phone: (82-42) 481-5008
For more information on the renewal process in South Korea, visit the link to their official website. You can search for patents here.
