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1. Practical Guide for Foreign Counsel

Korean design rights are governed by the Design Act and administered by MOIP/KIPO. Under Korea’s Substantive Examination System (SES), design applications are automatically examined in filing order—no separate request for examination is required. Examination generally takes about one year from filing. This guide summarizes the core steps and key practice points for industrial design registration in Korea, including drawings, priority, publication, substantive examination, and registration.

2. Procedure Flow & Drawings Requirements

Procedure Flow: Substantive examination for industrial designs.

Drawings (Scope-Defining Requirements)

KIPO emphasizes that properly prepared drawings are central to design practice. Drawings should indicate:

• the article embodying the design,
• a description of the design and essential components, and
• serial numbers (only for multiple design registrations)

Applicants may submit photographs or a sample instead of drawings in appropriate cases. Views may include perspective/front/rear/sides/top/bottom and other necessary views (e.g., sectional). For flat articles, top and rear views may be sufficient.

3. Examination Process

Formality Examination (Filing-Date Requirements)

KIPO checks minimum formal requirements to accord a filing date. A design filing may be returned without an application number and treated as not submitted if, for example:

• the application type is unclear,
• applicant name/address is missing,
• it is not written in Korean,
• drawings are missing,
• the relevant article is not identified, or
• a non-resident files without a Korean representative

KIPO notes that the formality examination process for designs is the same as for patents.

Publication of Application (Design Laid-Open Gazette)

Upon the applicant’s request, a design application may be published in the Design Laid-open Gazette (with limitations once a first final decision is issued). After laid-open publication:

• Any person may submit registrability information with supporting evidence.
• The applicant may send a written warning to alleged infringers, and may demand compensation from a warned party (or a party aware of the laid-open filing) for working the filed/similar design, measured as a reasonable royalty-type amount, from warning/awareness until registration.

Substantive Examination (Automatic Under SES)

Design applications are automatically substantively examined in order of filing date, and KIPO indicates it generally takes about one year to complete examination. Expedited examination may be requested where:

• a third party is commercially working the design after laid-open publication, or
• urgent processing is necessary under applicable rules

4. Registrability & Registration

Registrability Requirements (Design Act Standards)

To be registrable, a design should meet core requirements including:

• Definition: shape/pattern/color (or combination) in an article producing an aesthetic impression; the design must be embodied in an article (tangible, movable, independent thing)
• Industrial applicability: capable of mass production
• Novelty: not identical/similar to publicly known/worked/published designs worldwide before filing
• Creativity: not easily created by a person of ordinary skill from publicly known designs
• Not excluded: e.g., contrary to public order/morality, similar to official emblems, likely to cause confusion with another’s business, or consisting solely of a functional shape essential to secure the article’s function

Exception to Loss of Novelty (Grace Period)

Even if the applicant disclosed the design before filing, it may still be deemed novel if the application is filed within 12 months of the disclosure (“Exception of Loss of Novelty”). To rely on this exception, the applicant must indicate the intent to claim the exception and submit proof documents within 30 days from the filing date.

Registration & Gazette (No Opposition Under SES)

If no refusal grounds remain, KIPO issues a decision to grant registration. Under SES, there is no publication for opposition after substantive examination. Upon registration, the design registration is published in the Design Registration under the SES Gazette.