FAQ

In order for a design that has been filed as a design registration application to be registered, it must satisfy the requirements for establishment of a design, and

1. novelty
2. creativity
3. industrial applicability, etc. must be satisfied
4. it must not violate the expanded first-to-file principle (Article 5 of the Design Protection Act).

However, where two or more designs satisfying such requirements, or designs similar thereto, have been filed, only the person who filed first may obtain registration. 

However, for designs filed as unexamined design registration applications, registration is granted by means of an examination method that does not examine 1) novelty, 2) creativity, and 3) the expanded first-to-file principle among the above requirements for registration, and that examines only 1) the requirements for establishment, 2) industrial applicability, and 3) whether grounds for non-registration apply.

Even a design that meets the requirements for registration of a design described above cannot be registered in the following cases (Article 6 of the Design Protection Act).

1. A design identical or similar to the national flag, national emblem, military flag, decorations, badges, or other insignia of public institutions, or to the letters or marks of a foreign national flag, national emblem, or international organization, etc.
2. A design that is liable to disturb public order or good morals
   – A portrait of a head of state or anything equivalent thereto
   – Anything that insults a specific country or its nationals
   – Anything vulgar, repugnant, or otherwise contrary to generally accepted public morals of society
   – Anything contrary to human ethics
   – Any other design that is liable to disturb international relations of trust and a fair competitive order
3. A design that is liable to cause confusion with products related to another person's business
   – A design expressing another person's well-known trademark, service mark, collective mark, or business mark (including three-dimensional trademarks)
   – A design expressing the mark of a non-profit corporation. (d) A design consisting solely of a shape indispensable for securing the function of a product
   – The function of a product means a technical function, and
   
   • a design consisting of a shape inevitably determined to secure the technical function of a product (an inevitable shape)
   • a design consisting of a shape determined by a standardized specification for securing the interchangeability of products, etc. (a quasi-inevitable shape)
   cannot be registered.
4. A design identical or similar to a design that became publicly known abroad before the design registration application ※ The Korean Design Protection Act provides that a design loses its novelty if it has been widely known domestically or abroad before the application; therefore, even if it is not known in Korea, a design identical or similar to a design that became publicly known abroad before the design registration application cannot be registered.

※ For details on the requirements for design registration, please refer to "KIPO (Korean Intellectual Property Office) website (http://www.kipo.go.kr) ▶ Intellectual Property System ▶ Trademark/Design ▶ Understanding Design".

The drawings are the primary basis for interpreting the scope of protection of a design, so amendments are rarely permitted. Therefore, they must be prepared perfectly from the outset.

The drawings attached to a design registration application must be prepared in accordance with the forms in Annex No. 3 (drawings for three-dimensional designs) and No. 3-2 (drawings for two-dimensional designs) of the Enforcement Rules of the Design Act, and must be depicted clearly with dense India ink or black drafting ink.

The design partial-examination registration system is a system under which only the basic requirements are examined for products that are highly trend-sensitive and have a short life cycle, and it takes an average of 3 months until registration.

The products subject to unexamined design are specified as unexamined designs in the design product classification.

The following product classifications are subject to unexamined design (Article 2(5) of the Design Protection Act).

Products subject to unexamined design include

• M1 (woven fabrics, knitted fabrics, synthetic resin sheets)
• B1 (clothing)
• C1 (bedding, floor coverings, curtains)
• F3 (office paper products, printed matter)
• F4 (wrapping paper, packaging containers)

and others.

For other products, you must file an examined design registration application.

Unlike patents or utility models, designs do not have an examination request (technical evaluation) system.

However, after a design application has been published, you may request accelerated examination if it is found that a person other than the applicant is commercially working the filed design, or if it is found that urgent processing is necessary for a design application prescribed by Presidential Decree (applied mutatis mutandis under Article 30 of the Design Protection Act; Article 61 of the Patent Act).

※ For accurate classification, you can check on the KIPO (Korean Intellectual Property Office) website (http://www.kipo.go.kr) ▶ Intellectual Property System ▶ Classification Code Search ▶ Design Classification Code. (As of 2016)

If you receive an Office Action (notice of grounds for rejection) after filing a design application, you may submit a written opinion or an amendment. A written opinion is used to state the applicant's opinion, while an amendment is submitted to correct or delete the contents of the design application that the applicant has filed.

When submitting such a written opinion or amendment, you may download the "Written Opinion" or "Drawing Amendment" form from the civil-petition forms section of the KIPO (Korean Intellectual Property Office) website and prepare it, or you may prepare it using electronic filing software.

• When submitting a design examination registration application in paper form - Basic fee: 70,000 KRW
• In the case of non-examination - Basic fee: 55,000 KRW
• Additional fee - In the case of multiple designs, 55,000 KRW is added for each design exceeding one (Article 6 of the Regulations on the Collection of Patent Fees, etc.).
• When the creator and the applicant are the same individual, a 70% reduction applies, so you only need to pay 30%.
• When submitting by mail, the fee may be exchanged for a postal money order and enclosed together with the application (Article 8 of the Regulations on the Collection of Patent Fees, etc.).
• When submitting an amendment
  If the submission method is paper: 13,000 KRW
  If online: 3,000 KRW
• For reference,
  Request fee for keeping a design confidential - 20,000 KRW per design
  Application fee for publication of a design examination registration application - 24,000 KRW per case.

※ Previously, only the applicant of a design examination registration application could request publication of their own design registration application, but it was amended effective July 1, 2005, so that anyone can request publication of an application regardless of whether it is subject to examination or non-examination (Article 23-2, Paragraph 1 of the Design Protection Act).