SAINT ISLAND INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY GROUP

An applicant’s public disclosure of an invention will not bar issuance of a patent to the applicant provided that the public disclosure is due to use for experimental purposes, publication in a non-patent document, or display in a government sponsored or approved exhibition and that an application for the invention is filed within a six-month grace period. In other words, the subject matter disclosed by the applicant’s own activities as specified above will not be considered prior art against the novelty or inventive step of the applicant’s invention. 
 
The applicant’s disclosure of the invention in a non-patent document may be for commercial or academic purposes. Furthermore, anyone who acquires the right to the application by virtue of transfer or the like is also entitled to the six-month grace period. 
 
It should be noted that, to take advantage of the six-month grace period, a claim to the benefit of the grace period must be made in the application upon filing, with the fact and date of such disclosure stated therein. Furthermore, evidence supporting the claim, e.g., a copy of the content of the disclosure, must be submitted. 
 
In view of the restrictions on the claiming of the benefit of the grace period, those who take advantage of the grace period are mostly academic or research institutes. The TIPO may be considering amending the Patent Law to relax the restrictions, allowing more applicants to enjoy such benefit and prolonging the grace period.