Journal of Intellectual Property (J Intellect Property; JIP)

KCI Indexed
OPEN ACCESS, PEER REVIEWED

pISSN 1975-5945
eISSN 2733-8487
Research Article

Procedural Issues and Reforms in the Korean Patent Correction System

1Ph.D. Program in Intellectual Property Convergence Department, Chungnam National University, Republic of Korea
2Professor, Department of Intellectual Property Convergence, Chungnam National University, Republic of Korea
3Professor, School of Business, Chungnam National University, Republic of Korea

Correspondence to Taejoong Kim (tjkim006@cnu.ac.kr)

Volume 21, Number 2, Pages 1-17, June 2026.
Journal of Intellectual Property 2026;21(2):1-17. https://doi.org/10.34122/jip.2026.21.2.1
Received on January 23, 2026, Revised on February 05, 2026, Accepted on June 05, 2026, Published on June 30, 2026.
Copyright © 2026 Korea Institute of Intellectual Property.
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/) which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided that the article is properly cited, the use is non-commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made.

Abstract

Through conducting a comparative analysis with foreign systems, this study identifies problems in Korea’s patent correction system and proposes improvements. In patent infringement suits, defendants challenge patentees’ rights through invalidation trials. Patentees can amend claims to overcome invalidity or clarify the ambiguous scope of such claims. During invalidation or correction i nvalidation trials, patentees may amend the scope of the claims through a correction request or via a correction trial. In Korea, the absence of correction opportunity limits and the allowance of post-deadline invalidity evidence encourage trial prolongation and process abuse risks. In the U.S., ex parte re-examination mandates amendment responses within two months post-notice, whereas IPR/PGR permits a single post-initiation amendment. In 2003, Japan permitted correction trials within 90 days of invalidation appeal filing, but repealed this in 2011, banning post-appeal corrections. In Europe, invalidation corrections require stating non-inclusion reasons in initial pleadings, prior-stage impossibilities, and lack of prejudice toward opponents. For swift patent dispute resolution and patentee protection, this study proposes permitting correction requests in response to the submission of new evidence in invalidation trials, post-appeal correction restrictions (with exceptions), and non-public pre-hearings.
Keywords

invalidation trial, correction trial, correction invalidation trial, patent infringement lawsuit, ex parte reexamination (EPR), inter partes review (IPR), post-grant review (PGR), opposition

Notes

Conflicts of Interest

No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Funding

The author received manuscript fees for this article from Korea Institute of Intellectual Property.

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