The deadline: 31 months from priority
A PCT application filed in a foreign language enters Korea by filing the national phase submission together with a Korean translation of the description, the claims, the text in the drawings and the abstract, within 31 months of the priority date. If the claims were amended under Article 19, the translation of the amended claims may be filed instead.
The one-month translation extension
If the translation is not ready, the national phase submission can be filed with a request to extend the translation deadline by one month, to 32 months. The request must be made in the national phase submission filed during the last month before the 31-month deadline, and before any translation has been filed. The official fee is KRW 20,000; our fee for the request is $25. The application fee stays at the Korean-language rate.
What happens if the deadline is missed
If the translation of the description and the claims has not been filed by the deadline (31 months, or 32 months with the extension), the international application is deemed withdrawn in Korea. Missing translations of only the abstract or the drawing text do not have this effect.
No reinstatement in Korea
Korea has notified the International Bureau that PCT Rule 49.6 (reinstatement of rights after failure to enter the national phase in time) is incompatible with its national law, and the Korean Patent Act has no provision that restores a PCT application withdrawn for a missing translation. The relief provisions of the Act cover other periods: certain appeal periods, the examination request and re-examination periods, and patent fees. In practice, a missed Korean entry cannot be revived.
If the deadline is close
- Instruct now, translate later. Inside the last month, we can file the entry with the extension request and the translation follows by 32 months.
- Send the WIPO publication. We can work out the cost and file from the published application and the international application number.
- Decide the claims later. Claims can be amended voluntarily after entry, within the periods allowed, so an urgent entry does not need final claims.
If the deadline has passed
A new Korean application for the same invention would normally face the PCT publication itself as prior art, so it is rarely a solution. Check first whether another family member, for example a Paris Convention application filed directly in Korea, is still pending.
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Questions
What is the PCT national phase deadline for Korea?
31 months from the priority date. The Korean translation of the description, claims, drawing text and abstract is filed with the national phase submission.
Can the Korean translation be filed late?
Only through the one-month extension: request it in the national phase submission filed during the last month before the 31-month deadline, and file the translation by 32 months. The official fee is KRW 20,000.
What happens if the translation is not filed in time?
If the translation of the description and the claims is missing at the deadline, the international application is deemed withdrawn in Korea.
Does Korea allow reinstatement under PCT Rule 49.6?
No. Korea has notified that Rule 49.6 is incompatible with its national law, and the Korean Patent Act has no provision restoring a PCT application withdrawn for a missing translation.
Legal basis
- Patent Act, Art. 201 — Korean translation, 31-month period, one-month extension, deemed withdrawal (para. 4)
- Patent Act, Art. 203 — national phase submission
- Rules on the Collection of Patent Fees, Art. 2 — translation extension fee, KRW 20,000
- WIPO — PCT reservations and incompatibilities (Rule 49.6(f): KR)