Korean report: Patent acquisition period expected to be shortened in semiconductor and display fields

The Korean Intellectual Property Office has announced that it will expand the scope of priority examination in the semiconductor and display fields from the current manufacturing or design fields of semiconductor and display materials, parts and equipment to the performance testing and evaluation fields.
The announcement was made on the 1st. It is expected that this will help small and medium-sized enterprises, which file many patent applications in this field, to obtain patents more quickly.
The Japan Patent Office will begin accepting applications from 2022, as the pace of technological development is rapid and the nation's economy and
The government is currently giving priority to patent applications related to cutting-edge technologies that are directly linked to national competitiveness. Currently, applications can be given priority in the fields of semiconductors, displays, and secondary batteries.
If a patent application in the semiconductor and display fields is applied for priority examination, the examination result can be received in an average of 1.6 months (as of the end of September this year).
This will be shortened by more than 14 months compared to the 15.9 months currently required for general review processing for the Korean market.
In these fields, where small and medium-sized enterprises make up a large proportion of patent applications, this measure is expected to make it easier for small and medium-sized enterprises, which account for 45.3% of applications in these fields, to use the priority examination system.
Shin Sang-gon, director of the Patent Examination and Planning Bureau at the Korea Intellectual Property Office, said, "In this era of rapid technological competition, it is most important to quickly secure rights," and added, "The Korea Intellectual Property Office is working to ensure that domestic companies in the field of cutting-edge technology are able to obtain patents quickly."
"We will continue to explore ways to support them so that they can lead innovation."