Which products
Designs for products in these Locarno classes can be filed only as partial-examination applications:
| Class | Products |
|---|---|
| 1 | Foodstuffs |
| 2 | Clothing and haberdashery |
| 3 | Travel goods, cases, bags and personal belongings |
| 5 | Textile piece goods, artificial and natural sheet material |
| 9 | Packaging and containers |
| 11 | Articles of adornment |
| 19 | Stationery, office equipment, artists' and teaching materials |
Designs for all other products are fully examined.
What is examined
The examiner checks the basic requirements, such as entitlement, industrial applicability, the grounds that bar registration outright, the product classification and the formal requirements, but does not search for earlier designs. Novelty is examined only if:
- someone submits information and evidence against the application, in which case the examiner may refuse on that basis; or
- since 28 November 2025, the design clearly lacks novelty or conflicts with an earlier application.
Opposition after registration
Anyone can oppose a design registered after partial examination, on any ground of registrability including novelty, from registration until three months after the registration is published. Since 28 November 2025, a party that has received a notice of infringement can also oppose within three months of receiving it, but not later than one year after publication. A panel of three examiners decides.
What this means for you
- As an applicant: registration is quick, but the right is only as strong as the design is new. Check the prior art before relying on it against others.
- If a competitor's design is registered: an opposition is faster and cheaper than an invalidation trial. Watch publications in your product classes.
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Questions
Which designs go through partial examination in Korea?
Designs for products in Locarno classes 1, 2, 3, 5, 9, 11 and 19: foodstuffs, clothing, bags and personal belongings, textiles, packaging, articles of adornment and stationery.
Is novelty examined in a Korean partial-examination design application?
Not as a rule. The examiner refuses for lack of novelty only on information submitted by a third party or, since 28 November 2025, when the design clearly lacks novelty or conflicts with an earlier application.
How long is the opposition period for a partially examined design?
From registration until three months after publication. A party that received a notice of infringement can also oppose within three months of the notice, but not later than one year after publication.
Can I choose full examination for these products?
No. Designs for products in those classes can only be filed as partial-examination applications.
Legal basis
- Design Protection Act, Art. 37 — partial-examination applications limited to designated products (para. 4)
- Enforcement Rule of the Design Protection Act, Art. 38 — Locarno classes 1, 2, 3, 5, 9, 11 and 19 (para. 3)
- Design Protection Act, Art. 62 — grounds examined (para. 2), refusal on submitted information (para. 4), refusal for clear lack of novelty or prior application (para. 5)
- Design Protection Act, Art. 68 — opposition
- Act No. 20962 (27 May 2025), in force 28 November 2025 — clear lack of novelty, opposition after a notice of infringement
- KIPO — design partial examination system