FAQ

It is the office that receives the PCT international application, while a Designated Office is the patent office of a country that the applicant has designated to obtain a patent in. An Elected Office is the patent office of a country selected from among the Designated Offices in order to make use of the preliminary examination results in particular; the Elected Offices may be selected as all or only some of the Designated Offices, and countries not subject to Chapter II of the PCT are excluded.

It is a search of the prior art related to the filed invention, and the result is prepared as an International Search Report and sent to the applicant and the International Bureau. This International Search Report has no binding effect on the applicant or the Designated Offices, but before commencing the full-scale filing procedures for each designated country, it informs the applicant in advance of the existence of relevant prior art related to their application, so that it can be used as reference material for deciding whether to continue with the procedures. In addition to the prior art search, the International Searching Authority makes a determination on patentability such as novelty, inventive step, and industrial applicability, prepares this as a written opinion, and provides the applicant with material for judging the subsequent course of the procedures.

▣ The PCT international application fees are as follows. (As of January 1, 2011)

≫International filing fee

-Basic fee: 1,535,000 KRW for up to 30 sheets of application documents; 17,000 KRW per sheet exceeding 30 sheets

≫Fee reduction (reduction amount of the international filing fee for filing in electronic form)

-When filing in PCT-EASY form: 115,000 KRW

-When filing in electronic form: 346,000 KRW

≫Search fee

-Korea: 450,000 KRW

-Japan: 1,306,000 KRW

-Austria: 2,613,000 KRW

-Australia: 2,603,000 KRW

≫ Handling fee: 231,000 KRW

※ Fees related to international applications may be adjusted from time to time due to factors such as exchange rates, so please check the latest fee status when filing an application or requesting a preliminary examination.
(Refer to the KIPO website)