The Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) has continued to make efforts to improve its examination system for semiconductor patent applications and bolster the competitiveness of Korea's semiconductor industry by establishing a new examination bureau dedicated to semiconductor technologies and recruiting additional examiners with substantial industry experience in the semiconductor field. 

Previously, in November 2022, KIPO introduced expedited examination for semiconductor-related patent applications (see "Expedited Examination for Semiconductor Patent Applications Now Available" in our 2022 Issue 4 Newsletter (link)). This change allows a company that is producing or preparing to produce semiconductor-related products or devices in Korea to request expedited examination for a semiconductor-related patent application. Further, even if an applicant is an overseas company, expedited examination for a semiconductor-related patent application may be available if the applicant has a semiconductor-related fabrication facility in Korea. 

In February 2023, KIPO announced the recruitment of 30 semiconductor patent examiners that have spent an average of 23 years and 9 months working in the semiconductor industry to bolster its examination of semiconductor patent applications and reduce existing examiners' workload. 83% of the examiners hold either a master's degree or a PhD, and 90% were working at private semiconductor companies. KIPO has indicated that it intends to recruit even more semiconductor patent examiners with substantial industry experience in 2024. 

Even with the recruitment of 30 additional semiconductor patent examiners, KIPO found that it needed to make further changes because semiconductor examiners were distributed among multiple Examination Bureaus (Electricity & Communications Examination Bureau for examining device/process-related semiconductor applications, Chemical & Biotechnology Examination Bureau for examining material-related semiconductor applications, and the Machinery & Metals Examination Bureau for examining semiconductor equipment-related applications)—this made it difficult to create a synergistic effect for existing examiners to collaborate with the newly recruited semiconductor specialists. 

Thus, in April 2023, KIPO newly established an Examination Bureau for semiconductor technologies (Semiconductor Examination Bureau), adding to the existing five Examination Bureaus (Patent Examination Policy Bureau, Digital Convergence Examination Bureau, Electricity & Communications Examination Bureau, Chemistry & Biotechnology Examination Bureau, and Machinery & Metals Examination Bureau). The Semiconductor Examination Bureau is dedicated to the examination of patent applications relating to semiconductor fabrication process, semiconductor design, display device, semiconductor materials, semiconductor package and assembly, and semiconductor fabrication equipment. 

Existing examiners dedicated to semiconductor-related patent applications and the newly recruited examiners will work together in the Semiconductor Examination Bureau to improve the expedited examination process of semiconductor-related patent applications and improve the use of consensus-based consultative examination for semiconductor-related patent applications (which is an examination using a panel of three examiners with different technical backgrounds to consult together on an application from the beginning of the examination process and come to a consensus). The effective use of consultative examination will become more important as semiconductor-related technologies converge with technologies in other areas such as artificial intelligence and IoT. 

More changes by KIPO to improve the patent examination system and enhance national technology competitiveness are expected in the future. Korean patent practitioners will be closely monitoring how these changes will affect examination of semiconductor-related patent applications going forward.