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Korea revises its examination criteria for design

The Korea Intellectual Property Office introduced a set of revised design examination criteria on May 15, 2009. The main revised points are described below:

* In the previous system, the identity of the drawings was very strictly examined. Thanks to the revision, however, a minor lack of identity will not be a reason for refusal. Differences in the reduction scale of the drawings will not be a reason for refusal either, provided it is possible to make out the pattern or the shape of the design.

* In the case that the application documents contain a minor and obvious clerical error, the Examiner, instead of releasing a formal invitation to amend, will now be able to contact the applicant, for example by telephone, to confirm his/her agreement, before correcting the document ex officio.