KIPO expands patent access
The Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) has announced that the public is now able to search detailed patent information as part of a government expansion of patent services.
As of yesterday (September 29), the public has been able to search patent classification and patent family information through its patent information web service KIPRISPlus.
People will also be able to search the International Patent Classification and the Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC) databases used to classify patents in various fields into specified classes.
The news comes shortly after KIPO signed an agreement with the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) which will see the two offices join forces to create a more efficient patent granting process.
Through the partnership, KIPO will expand the number of documents included in the CPC system by fully classifying its patent applications and utility models.
“KIPO has carried out a number of cooperative activities with the USPTO in a wide range of areas,” said KIPO commissioner Young-min Kim.
“In accordance with the agreement, all Korean patent and utility model applications newly filed will be classified into the CPC, ensuring efficient access worldwide to Korean patent documentation.
“As KIPO and USPTO are set to use the unified classification system, it is expected that work efficiency and user convenience will be improved and… bilateral cooperation further facilitated,” Kim said.
Starting on January 1 next year, KIPO will start classifying its entire new patent collection using the CPC.
