Design Regulations (as amended up to Ordinance No. 257 of February 11, 2005 of the Ministry of Commerce, Industry, and Energy), Republic of Korea

Article 1 Purpose

The purpose of these Regulations is to prescribe particulars authorized by the Design Act and the Enforcement Decree of the same Act and matters necessary to implement the aforementioned particulars.

Article 1-2 Documents Submittable by Means of Electronic Documents

(1)

Documents which may be submitted to the Commissioner of the Korean Intellectual Property Office (hereinafter referred to as “the Office”) or to the President of the Korean Intellectual Property Tribunal (hereinafter referred to as “the Tribunal”) by means of electronic documents under Article 28-3(4) of the Patent Act applied mutatis mutandis in Article 4 of the Design Act (hereinafter referred to as “the Act”) shall be other than those falling under any of the following subparagraphs:

(i)

the statement for submission of electronic recording media;

(ii)

the statement for submission of documents attached to electronic documents;

(iii) the statement for submission of documents (samples, articles, exhibits);

(iv)

the request for issuance in correction of a design registration certificate;

(v)

the request for correction of digitized contents;

(vi)

deleted

(2)

deleted

(3)

Article 9-2(3) of the Patent Act Enforcement Regulations shall apply mutatis mutandis to design registration applications related to the national defense. In such a case, “patent application” shall read “design registration application”.

Article 1-3 Notifications or Other Documents to Be Served by Meansof Electronic Documents

The Commissioner of the Office, the President of the Tribunal, the presiding trial examiner, a trial examiner, the presiding examiner or an examiner may send or transmit all documents through communication network, unless otherwise stipulated in the Act or Decree, to a person who has notified of the use of electronic documents under Article 28-4(1) of the Patent Act as applied mutatis mutandis to Article 4 of the Act and intends to receive

notifications or transmittals by way of electronic documents.

Article 1-4 Languages to Be Used in Documents

(1)

Documents to be submitted to the Office or to the Tribunal shall be provided in the Korean language, unless they fall under paragraph

(2)

below.

(2)

Powers of attorney, certificates of nationality, priority documents and other documents provided in foreign languages shall be accompanied by their Korean translations.

Article 2 Return of Defective Application Documents, etc.

(1)

Where documents, samples or any other materials (hereinafter in this Article referred to as “application documents, etc.”) in relation to the design registration applications or trials under Article 9 of the Act, Article 140 of the Patent Act as applied in Article 72 of the Act or under Article 140-2 of the Patent Act fall under any of the following subparagraphs, the Commissioner of the Office or the President of the Tribunal shall not consider them as the lawful application documents etc. for the application or the trial, unless otherwise provided by the Act or Decree:

(i)

the nature of the application or of application documents is not specific;

(ii)

the name (or in the case of a legal entity, its corporate name) or an applicant code (or in the absence of an applicant code, the name or the address (or in the case of a legal entity, its corporate name or address of business)) of a person, who files the application for a design registration and makes relevant requests as well as takes any other procedures, is not specified;

(iii) the documents etc. are not written in the Korean language;

(iv)

no drawings are attached (including the cases that some of drawings are lacking for some of designs for a multiple design application under Article 11-2 of the Act (hereinafter referred to as “multiple design application”));

(v)

the articles, to which the design is applied, are not indicated;

(vi)

application documents, etc. are submitted by a person who has neither an address nor an address of business in the Republic of Korea, without representation by a design administrator under Article 5(1) of the Patent Act as applied mutatis mutandis under Article 4 of the Act;

(vii) documents are not submitted within a period designated by the Act or by an instruction under the Act;

(viii) a request for extension is made for a period for which no extension is allowed by the Act or by an instruction under the Act;

(ix)

a request for extension of period is submitted after the expiry of a period for amendments of grounds for opposition to unexamined design registration under Article 29-3 of the Act, after the expiry of a period to request a trial under Article 67-2 of the Act or Article 67-3 of the Act, or after the expiry of a period specified by the Commissioner of the Office, the President of the Tribunal, the presiding trial examiner or by an examiner;

(x)

a request for registration of a general power of attorney in Form No. 2-6 annexed to the Patent Act Enforcement Regulations, a request for restricting the scope of authorization of the general power of attorney in Form No. 2-7 annexed to the said Regulations, a statement for the withdrawal of registration of general power of attorney in Form No. 2-8 annexed to the said Regulations, a request for grant of an applicant code in Form No. 4 annexed to the said Regulations, or relevant documents required where an applicant code has to be granted ex officio are not specific enough to accept;

(xi)

a request for design registration application or other documents, which have been submitted by way of communication network or by electronic recording media such as floppy disk or optical disk, have not been prepared with software or homepage provided by the Office, or formality of the documents as electronic document are not in a suitable state for disposition on the electronic information processing system; (xi-2) documents instructed to be submitted under Article 3-2 of the Patent Act Enforcement Regulations as applied mutatis mutandis in Article 28 of these Regulations have not been submitted within the designated period; (xi-3) documents are, in violation of Article 2 of the Patent Act Enforcement Regulations as applied mutatis mutandis in Article 28 of these Regulations, not prepared independently;

(xii) documents instructed to be submitted under Article 8 of the Patent Act Enforcement Regulations as applied mutatis mutandis in Article 28 of these Regulations have not been submitted, without any justifiable reason, within a specified period to submit statements;

(xiii) documents are submitted in connection with a design-related procedure after the conclusion of the procedure therefor;

(xiv) documents are submitted in connection with design-related procedures by a person who is not entitled to take relevant procedures.

(2)

Where the Commissioner of the Office or the President of the Tribunal has deemed application documents, etc. unlawful under the preceding paragraph (1) and intends to return such documents etc., the Commissioner of the Office shall send a notice to the effect that the application documents, etc. are to be returned, mentioning the reasons for the said return and designating the period to submit statements thereon, to applicants and other persons requesting trials and submitting documents (hereinafter referred to as “applicants, etc.”). However, in the case of the preceding subparagraph (1)(xii), the application documents, etc. shall be returned immediately upon notice of the reasons for return.

(3)

The applicants, etc. who have received a notice under the principal text of the preceding paragraph (2) and intend to submit statements thereon, shall submit statements in Form No. 4-8 annexed to the Patent Act Enforcement Regulations within the designated period to submit statements, and the applicants, etc., who intend to submit no statement and to have the application documents, etc. returned within the said period to submit statements, shall submit a request for return in Form No. 4-9 annexed to the Patent Act Enforcement Regulations, to the Commissioner of the Office or the President of the Tribunal. In such a case, upon receipt of the request for return, the Commissioner of the Office or the President of the Tribunal shall immediately return the application documents, etc.

(4)

The Commissioner of the Office or the President of the Tribunal, to whom the applicants, etc. do not submit a statement or a request for return of the documents within a designated period to submit statements, or to whom the submitted statements appear to be groundless, shall return the application documents, etc. immediately after the expiry of the period to submit statements.

Article 3 Amendment of Documents, etc.

A person who intends to amend documents under Articles 17 and 18 of the Act or under Article 11 of these Regulations shall submit to the Commissioner of the Office or the President of the Tribunal an amendment in the annexed Form No. 1 together with the following documents:

(i)

a proof of the contents of the amendment;

(ii)

a proof of the power of attorney, where an agent acts in the procedure.

Article 4 deleted

Article 5 Application Request, etc.

(1)

A person who intends to file an application for an examined design registration or an application for an examined registration of a similar design under Article 9(1) of the Act shall submit to the Commissioner of the Office an application request in the annexed Form No. 2 together with the following documents:

(i)

drawings (photographs, samples), in each one copy;

(ii)

a proof of the power of attorney, where an agent acts in the procedure;

(iii) any other certificates required under the Act or Decree, in each one copy.

(2)

A person who intends to file an application for an unexamined design registration or an application for an unexamined registration of a similar design under Article 9(1) and (4) of the Act shall submit to the Commissioner of the Office the application request in the annexed Form No. 2-2 together with the following documents:

(i)

the drawings (photographs, samples) in each one copy (or in the case of a multiple design application, in each one copy in each design);

(ii)

a proof of the power of attorney, where an agent acts in the procedure;

(iii) any other documents required under the Act or Decree, in each one copy.

(3)

deleted

(4)

The drawings under the preceding paragraph (1) or (2) shall, in the case of the three-dimensional design, be submitted in the annexed Form No. 3 and, in the case of the two-dimensional design, be submitted in the annexed Form No. 3-2.

(5)

With regard to the drawings required under Article 9(2) of the Act, a perspective view of an article shall be illustrated at first, then, views by orthographic projection and necessary figures shall

be illustrated. However, views other than a top view and a rear view need not be illustrated in the case that the article to which the design is applied is two-dimensional.

(6)

A sample which may be submitted in lieu of drawings under Article 9(3) of the Act shall not be more than 1 cm thick, 15 cm wide, and 22 cm long. If the sample is of thin cloth or paper, it shall not be more than 200 cm in width and length together.

(7)

A sample and a photograph thereof shall be submitted if the sample is submitted in lieu of the drawing under Article 9(3) of the Act.

Article 6 Laying Open Date of Application for Design Registrationand Publication Date of Design Registration

(1)

The laying open date of a design registration application or the publication date of a design registration shall be the date of issuance of the Design Gazette or Design Registration Gazette (referring to the Gazette of Examined Design Registration and the Gazette of Unexamined Design Registration) in which the laying open of the design registration or the publication of the registration of design is made.

(2)

Notwithstanding the preceding paragraph (1), in an opposition to an unexamined design registration of secret designs, the date of issuance under the proviso to Article 1-2(3) of the Design Act Enforcement Decree (hereinafter referred to as “the Decree”), of the Design Registration Gazette, which contains the drawings or photographs, the essentials of the creation and an explanation of the design, is deemed to be the publication date of design registration.

Article 6-2 Request for Laying Open of Design Application

(1)

A person who intends to request a laying open of the design registration application pursuant to Article 23-2(1) of the Act shall submit a request in the annexed Form No. 3-3 to the Commissioner of the Office. However, if the person intends to request the laying open simultaneously with the filing of the application for design registration, the person may state such intent in the application request under Article 5 of these Regulations in lieu of the submission of the request.

(2)

A person, who takes design-related procedures and intends to withdraw the request for laying open of the design registration application under the preceding paragraph (1), shall submit a statement for withdrawal in Form No. 9 annexed to the Patent Act Enforcement Regulations within ten days from the date of submission of the request for laying open of the said application.

(3)

A person, who intends to submit through an agent the request under the preceding paragraph (1) or the statement for withdrawal under the preceding paragraph (2), shall attach a proof of the power of attorney.

Article 6-3 Furnishing of Information on Application for DesignRegistration

A person who intends to furnish information pursuant to Article 23-5 of the Act shall submit to the Commissioner of the Office a statement for submission of information in the annexed Form No. 3-4 together with the following documents:

(i)

publications, etc. as evidence documents, in each one copy;

(ii)

a proof of the power of attorney, where an agent acts in the procedure.

Article 7 Particulars to Be Contained in Drawings

(1)

The explanation of the design in the drawings pursuant to Article 9(2) of the Act shall contain the particulars indicated in the Schedule 2.

(2)

deleted

(3)

If photographs of an article are to be submitted in lieu of the drawings of the article pursuant to Article 9(3) of the Act, the photographs should be fine and clear enough to show the article to which the design is applied.

(4)

If a sample of article is to be submitted in lieu of the drawings of the article pursuant to Article 9(3) of the Act, the sample shall be as follows:

(i)

free from damage, transformation or change in quality;

(ii)

easy to handle and preserve;

(iii) free from the fear of easily coming off if pasted or affixed to a sheet.

Article 8 Method to Draft Essentials of Creation

The explanation of essentials of the creation, to be indicated in the drawings, pursuant to Article 9(2) of the Act shall be drafted as indicated in the Schedule 3.

Article 9 Classification of Articles, etc.

(1)

The classification of articles under Article 11(2) of the Act shall be according to the Schedule 4.

(2)

The classification of a set of articles under Article 12(2) of the Act shall be according to the appended Chart 5.

(3)

Articles, for which an application for unexamined design registration may be filed under Article 9(6) of the Act, shall be those belonging to the classes B1, C1, F3, F4 and M1 of the classification of articles in the Schedule 4.

(4)

Articles, for which an application for multiple design registration may be filed under Article 11-2(2) of the Act, shall be those in the same class according to the classification in the Schedule 4.

Article 10 Submission of Priority Documents

A person who has claimed priority under Article 23(3) of the Act and intends to submit documents pursuant to Article 23(4) of the Act shall submit to the Commissioner of the Office a priority claim in Form No. 16 annexed to the Patent Act Enforcement Regulations together with the following documents:

(i)

a document to prove priority and a translation thereof;

(ii)

a proof of the power of attorney, where an agent acts in the procedure.

Article 11 Division of Application

(1)

A person, who intends to divide some part of an application for design registration pursuant to Article 19(1)(i) or (ii) of the Act into one or more new design registration application, shall amend the original application and at the same time, for one or more design registration applications separated from the original, shall submit to the Commissioner of the Office, in the case of divisional

application for examined design registration, an application request in the annexed Form No. 4, or in the case of divisional application for unexamined design registration, an application request in the annexed Form No. 4-2, together with the following documents:

(i)

drawings (photographs, samples) in each one copy (or one copy each for each design, if the divisional application is an application for multiple design registration);

(ii)

a proof of the power of attorney, where an agent acts in the procedure;

(iii) any other certificate required under the Act or Decree, in each one copy.

(2)-(3) deleted

Article 12 Conversion of Application

(1)

A person who intends to convert the application for design registration pursuant to Articles 20 and 20-2 of the Act shall submit to the Commissioner of the Office a request for conversion application in the annexed Form No. 4-3 in the case of an application for conversion of examined design registration, or a request for conversion application in the annexed Form No. 4-4 in the case of an application for conversion of unexamined design registration, together with the following documents:

(i)

deleted

(ii)

a proof of the power of attorney, where an agent acts in the procedure;

(iii) any other certificates required under the Act or Decree, in each one copy.

(2)-(3) deleted

Article 12-2 Division and Conversion of Application

A person who intends to apply simultaneously for the division and conversion of the application under Article 19, 20 or 20-2 of the Act shall amend the original design application, and for one or more design registration applications separated from the original, shall submit to the Commissioner of the Office, in the case of a division and conversion of the application for examined design registration, an application request in the annexed Form No. 4, or in the case of a division and conversion of the application for unexamined design registration, an application request in the annexed Form No. 4-2, together with the following documents:

(i)

drawings (photographs, samples) in each one copy (or if the divisional application is an application for multiple design registration, in each one copy in each design);

(ii)

a proof of the power of attorney, where an agent acts in the procedure;

(iii) any other certificate prescribed under the Act or Decree, in each one copy.

Article 13 Application by Entitled Person

Any person who intends to file an application for design registration as an entitled person pursuant to Article 14 or 15 of the Act shall submit to the Commissioner of the Office an application request in the annexed Form No. 5 in the case of an examined design registration application, or an application request in the annexed Form No. 5-2 in the case of an unexamined design registration application, together with the following documents:

(i)

drawings (photographs, samples) in each one copy (or in each one copy in each design in the case of a multiple design registration application);

(ii)

a proof of being the lawful holder of the right;

(iii) a proof of power of attorney, where an agent acts in the procedure.

Article 14 Notice to Person Entitled to Design Right

When, for the reason that the design registration application has been filed by an unentitled person, a decision to refuse the design registration, a decision to revoke the design registration, a trial decision to reject the appeals against the decision to refuse or revoke, or a trial decision to invalidate the design registration has become final, the Commissioner of the Office or the President of the Tribunal shall notify in writing the person entitled to the design right of that fact.

Article 15 Report on Consultation Result

If a single application for registration of a design is designated and reported as a result of consultation among the applicants pursuant to Article 38(6) of the Patent Act as applied mutatis mutandis in Articles 16(5) and 24 of the Act, Article 34 of the Patent Act Enforcement Regulations shall apply mutatis mutandis to the report.

Article 16 Order of Examination

Examinations of applications for design registration shall be made in order of the filing of application.

Article 17 Request for Reduction or Extension of Secrecy Period

(1)

Where the Commissioner of the Office received a request for keeping secret of a design under Article 13(1) and (2) of the Act, the Commissioner of the Office shall indicate the term of secrecy period in a decision on the design registration.

(2)

A person who intends to request the reduction or extension of the secrecy period under Article 13(3) of the Act shall submit to the Commissioner of the Office a request for the extension (reduction) of the secrecy period of design in the annexed Form No.

6. In such a case, a proof of the power of attorney shall be attached where an agent acts in the procedure.

Article 18 Notification of Grounds for Refusals or Rejections, etc.

(1)

An examiner who intends to decide or notify of the following matters, shall report thereon to the Commissioner of the Office and shall prepare the statement of decision or the notification and sign and seal thereon:

(i)

a decision to reject an amendment under Article 18-2(1) of the Act;

(ii)

a notification of reasons for rejection under Article 27 of the Act;

(iii) a decision on the opposition to an unexamined design registration under Article 75 of the Patent Act as applied mutatis mutandis in Article 30(2) of the Act.

(2)

A person who intends to submit an opinion pursuant to Articles 27 and 71 or to Article 72 of the Patent Act as applied mutatis mutandis to Article 30(2) of the Act shall submit to the Commissioner of the Office, the President of the Tribunal or to the presiding trial examiner a statement for opinion in the annexed Form No. 6-2 with the following documents:

(i)

a proof of contents of the opinion;

(ii)

a proof of the power of attorney, where an agent acts in the procedure.

Article 19 Decision on Registration or Refusal of Application forDesign Registration

The examiner shall, in making a decision to refuse or register the application for design registration, report that fact to the Commissioner of the Office, produce a statement of decision to refuse the application for a design registration or of a decision to register the design, indicating the following particulars, and shall sign and seal thereon:

(i)

the name and address of the applicant for the design registration (or, in the case of a legal entity, its corporate name and address of business);

(ii)

where an agent acts in the procedure on behalf of the applicant for the design registration, the name and address or address of business thereof (or, in the case of the agent being a patent attorney firm, its office name, address of business and the name of the appointed patent attorney);

(iii) the application number of the design registration;

(iv)

the article to which the design is applied;

(v)

the decision to register or refuse the design registration and reasons therefor;

(vi)

the date of notification of the reasons for refusal (only in the case of decision to refuse the design registration);

(vii) the date of decision.

Article 20 Opposition to Unexamined Design Registration, etc.

(1)

A person who intends to oppose an unexamined design registration under Article 29-2 of the Act shall submit to the Commissioner of the Office a motion in Form No. 27 annexed to the Patent Act Enforcement Regulations with the following documents. In such a case, where designs have been registered under a multiple design registration application, a motion may be submitted for each registered design, which is the subject of the opposition to unexamined design registration:

(i)

deleted

(ii)

documents, evidencing the particulars of the opposition, in each one copy;

(iii) a proof of the power of attorney, where an agent acts in the procedure.

(2)

A person who intends to submit a response to an opposition pursuant to Article 29-2(3) of the Act shall submit to the

Commissioner of the Office a response in Form No. 28 annexed to the Patent Act Enforcement Regulations together with the following documents:

(i)

deleted

(ii)

documents to prove the particulars of the response, in each one copy;

(iii) a proof of the power of attorney, where an agent acts in the procedure.

(3)

A person who intends to submit an opinion on the response to the opposition under the preceding paragraph (2) and a person who intends to submit a rebuttal on the said opinion shall submit to the Commissioner of the Office a statement for opinion on the response (or a statement for rebuttal) in Form No. 28-3 annexed to the Patent Act Enforcement Regulations together with the following documents:

(i)

documents to prove the contents of the opinion (or of the rebuttal), in each one copy;

(ii)

a proof of the power of attorney, where an agent acts in the procedure.

Article 20-2 Abandonment of Some Individual Designs

A person who intends to abandon some individual designs as prescribed under Article 31-2(1) of the Act shall indicate such intent in a statement for payment of the registration fee in Form No. 20 annexed to the Enforcement Regulations of the Patent Registration Decree, and shall submit to the Commissioner of the Office, together with the said statement for payment, a statement for abandonment of some individual designs in Form No. 9-4 annexed to the Patent Act Enforcement Regulations.

Article 20-3 Restoration of Design Registration Applications andDesign Rights, etc. by Late Payment or Remaining Payment of Registration Fees

A person who intends to make a late payment or a remaining payment of the registration fee under Article 33-3(1) of the Act shall mention such intent in a statement for the payment of registration fee in Form No. 20 annexed to the Enforcement Regulations of the Patent Registration Decree, in a statement for payment of the annual (registration) fee in Form No. 20-2 annexed to the said Regulations, or in a statement for remaining payment of the registration fee in Form No. 20-3 annexed to the said Regulations, and shall submit the said statement together with the following documents:

(i)

a proof of the fact that the applicant of the design registration or the owner of the design has not been able to make payment within the designated period for a late payment or remaining payment for the reasons not liable to the applicant or the design right owner;

(ii)

a proof of the power of attorney, where an agent acts in the procedure.

Article 21 Design Registration Certificate, etc.

(1)

The design registration certificate issued under Article 38(1) of the Act shall be in the annexed Forms No. 7, No. 7-2, No. 8, No. 8-2, and No. 10.

(2)

The Commissioner of the Office who intends to issue a registration certificate with corrections pursuant to Article 38(2) of the Act, shall fill in the field of registration details in the annexed Form No. 9 with the corrected particulars, sign and seal thereon, and bind the form to the relevant design registration certificate to be issued.

Article 22 Request for Issuance of Correction of Design RegistrationCertificate, etc.

Article 51 of the Patent Act Enforcement Regulations shall apply mutatis mutandis to a person who intends to request for issuance of correction of a design registration certificate or, due to its loss or damage, for re-issuance of a design registration certificate.

Article 23 Publication of Extinguishment of Design Right

The Commissioner of the Office shall publish the fact of extinguishment of design right in the Design Gazette when the design right is extinguished under Article 59 of the Act.

Article 24 Request for Trial

(1)

A person who intends to request a trial under Article 68 or 69 of the Act shall submit to the President of the Tribunal a request for trial in Form No. 34 annexed to the Patent Act Enforcement Regulations together with the following documents. In such a case, where designs have been registered under a multiple design registration application, a request for trial may be submitted for each registered design, which is the subject of the request for

trial:

(i)

deleted

(ii)

drawings (only so far as the trial concerns the confirmation of the scope of rights);

(iii) a proof of the power of attorney, where an agent acts in the procedure.

(2)

A person who intends to request a trial under Article 70 of the Act shall submit to the President of the Tribunal a request for trial for the grant of non-exclusive license in Form No. 35 annexed to the Patent Act Enforcement Regulations.

(3)

A person who intends to request a trial under Articles 67-2 and 67-3 of the Act shall submit to the President of the Tribunal a request for trial in the annexed Form No. 6-3.

Article 25 deleted

Article 26 Request for Retrial

A person who intends to request a retrial pursuant to Article 73(1) of the Act shall submit to the President of the Tribunal a request for retrial in Form No. 44 annexed to the Patent Act Enforcement Regulations together with the following documents:

(i)

deleted

(ii)

drawings (only so far as the retrial concerns the confirmation of the scope of rights);

(iii) a proof of the power of attorney, where an agent acts in the procedure.

Article 27 Indication of Design Registration

Indication of design registration pursuant to Article 79 of the Act shall be made by indicating the words “Registered Design” and the registered number on the relevant articles or on the containers or packages of the articles.

Article 28 Provisions as Applied Mutatis Mutandis

Articles 1-2, 2, 3, 3-2, 5, 5-2 to 5-4, 6 to 9, 9-3 to 9-7, 10, 12, 13-2, 13-3, 14 to 19, 20-2, 24, 26 to 28, 32, 35, 37-2, 39, 40, 42, 49, 58 to 69, 73, 120, 120-2 to 120-8, and 122 of the Patent Act Enforcement Regulations shall apply mutatis mutandis to the applications, requests and other procedures for the design registration. In such a case, “Article 41” in Article 73(2) of the said Regulations shall read “Article 18(2),” and “decision to refuse a patent referred to in Article 132-3 of the Act” in the said paragraph of the said Article shall read “decision to reject amendment and decision to refuse design registration referred to in Articles 67-2 and 67-3 of the Act”.