Q. What are the requirements for filing a design application in Korea?

A. Essentially, the requirements are; (1) a Power of Attorney, which may be late-filed, (2) one drawing of six views (front, rear, top, bottom, left-side, right-side), or more if necessary, in which the creativity of the design and the entire shape & pattern should be completely and clearly described, together with a very brief explanation of the design, such as an indication of the article's material and usage, and (3) the inventor/ applicant/priority data.

Q. What is subject to a non-examination application?

A. There are two examination systems for design applications: applications to be substantively examined for creativity, novelty, etc. and applications subject to the "non-examination" system, which basically applies to short-term fashion articles such as clothing, fabrics, etc. In the non-examination system, the application is examined based on filing formalities only, but upon registration is subject to the risks of an opposition period (ending three months after the publication date).

Q. How long does it take for a design application to be examined?

A. Recent trends show that the examination period for a substantively examined application is 10 months; for non-examination applications, results can be expected in just 4 months. This period is measured from the filing date to the issuance of examination results, which are basically in the form of a Notice to Submit an Argument (a rejection) or a Decision to Grant (allowance).

A. Partial design registrations are permissible, for example, the spout of a kettle or the handset of a telephone, whereby the design of a portion of an article may be registered.