April 28, 2020

Official Notice of 2nd ex-officio extension for designated periods due to the effects of the COVID-19

Official Notice of 2nd ex-officio extension for designated periods due to the effects of the COVID-19
[KIPO Public Notice No. 2020-98]

Official Notice of 2nd ex-officio extension for designated periods due to the effects of the COVID-19

Due to the domestic and international spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19), there
are concerns that applicants in the process of patents, utility models, designs
and/or trademarks may not be able to abide the specified periods designated by
the KIPO Commissioner, etc. as indicated in related legislations.

As such, if the designated periods, enumerated in the appendix, ends on a date
between April 30, 2020 - May 30, 2020, the deadline of such periods according to
Article 15(2) of the Patent Act, Article 3 of the Utility Model Act (Article 15(2) of the
Patent Act shall apply mutatis mutandis), Article 17(2) of the Design Protection Act
and Article 17(2) of the Trademark Act will be ex-officio extended until May 31,2020.

April 28, 2020

Commissioner of the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO)
President of the Intellectual Property Trial and Appeal Board (IPTAB)

[Note]

1. At this time, periods such as the statutory period in the Patent Act
(Trademark Act, Design Act, etc.) and the period for possible dispute
between parties are excluded from the ex-officio extension. Please make
sure to reference the appendix for the ex-officio extensions regarding the
period for procedures related to patents (utility models, trademarks, etc.).

2. Applicants who desire quicker examination in spite of the ex-officio extension may
request to shorten the designated period.