South Korea's Priority Examination Route for Green Energy Patents — and How US Applicants Can Leverage It With the termination of the USPTO's Climate Change Mitigation Pilot Program (CCMPP) on January 28, 2025, applicants for US patents lost a cost-effective option for prioritized examination of "green" patent applications. Outside the US, however, several routes for accelerating green-technology applications remain available — and Korea's Priority Examination (우선심사) process is a particularly useful one. This post explains the carbon-neutral green-technology priority examination process administered by Korea's Ministry of Intellectual Property (MOIP) under Patent Act Article 61 and the governing Notice (No. 2026-3). It covers the five eligible technology fields — CO₂ capture, advanced nuclear power, hydrogen and ammonia, advanced mobility, and renewable energy — along with the practical mechanics: the request fee (KRW 200,000 for patents), the roughly one-month timeframe for the decision on the request, and a first action on the merits typically within about two to three months. It also outlines how a favorable Korean result can be used, via the Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH), to accelerate a corresponding US application without paying the USPTO's prioritized examination fee, as well as a PCT/ISA-based alternative. This post was prepared in collaboration with Harness IP and originally appeared on the Harness IP website. Read the original here: South Korea's Priority Examination Process for Green Energy Patents | Harness IP. This post is part of a series examining options for prioritized treatment of "green" patent applications in jurisdictions outside the US. 

​I. Korea Moves to Ease Restoration of Rights Lost Due to Missed Patent Fee Payments​  Korea is moving to ease the requirements for restoring patent rights that have lapsed due to the failure to pay patent fees on time. On August 20, 2026, the National Assembly passed an amendment to the Korean Patent Act that will relax the requirements for the restoration of patent rights lost as a result of missed fee payments. Amendments to the Utility Model Act and the Design Protection Act reflecting the same approach were also passed. Under the current system, restoration generally requires the applicant or patentee to demonstrate a “justifiable reason” for failing to comply with the relevant time limit, such as circumstances involving a system error or other exceptional situation. A simple mistake or failure in deadline management has generally not been sufficient. Under the amendment, restoration will become available where the failure to comply with the time limit was unintentional. This is expected to allow rights holders to seek restoration in cases involving mistakes or inadvertent errors, subject to the payment of an additional fee and other applicable requirements. The amendment is also part of Korea's broader efforts to align its patent procedures with the Patent Law Treaty (PLT). Further legislative measures are expected, including the introduction of a mechanism for the restoration of priority rights where the 12-month priority period has been missed. The effective date of the amendment and further details, including the amount of any additional fee, remain to be determined. ​II. Korea Expands Support for the Protection of K-Brands Overseas​  The Ministry of Intellectual Property (MOIP) has recently introduced new services aimed at helping Korean companies identify and respond to overseas counterfeiting, imitation and unauthorized trademark registrations at an earlier stage. The new “Fake K-Brand Reporting Center” allows suspected cases of counterfeit products or imitation of Korean brands found overseas to be reported using photographs and location information. After review, relevant cases may be shared with the rights holder and, where appropriate, linked to follow-up measures such as evidence collection and local enforcement. MOIP has also launched the “K-Brand Guardian” service, which analyzes overseas trademark application data and patterns associated with previous bad-faith filings. Companies registered with the service may receive alerts when potentially similar trademark applications are identified overseas. These developments are noteworthy as they provide additional tools for identifying potential infringement and bad-faith trademark filings before a dispute becomes more difficult or costly to resolve. However, these services do not replace the need for timely trademark filings and regular monitoring in key markets.

​I. Amendments to the Enforcement Rules for Trademark and Design Registration Procedures​  The Ministry of Intellectual Property (MOIP) amended the Enforcement Rules of the Trademark Act and the Design Protection Act, effective June 17, 2026. The amendments introduce changes to trademark and design registration certificates and simplify certain procedural requirements for international trademark applications. First, the designation "REPUBLIC OF KOREA" has been added to the English name appearing on Korean trademark and design registration certificates. As a result, newly issued certificates will more clearly identify them as official registration certificates issued by the Government of the Republic of Korea. This change is intended to improve the recognition of Korean registration certificates in overseas trademark enforcement, licensing transactions, and other cross-border matters. The amendments also simplify certain procedures relating to international trademark applications. Previously, where the first document filed was a request for an extension of a statutory time limit, applicants were generally required to submit a separate notification of appointment of representative. Under the revised rules, this notification is no longer required in such cases. The change is expected to facilitate procedures particularly for foreign applicants that do not have a domicile or place of business in Korea. In addition, the descriptions relating to opposition documents have been clarified so that applicants can more easily determine which documents should be submitted and by whom. Although the amendments do not affect the substantive scope of trademark rights, foreign practitioners may notice changes in the format of Korean registration certificates issued after the amendments. The procedural simplifications for international trademark applications are also expected to reduce administrative formalities, particularly for overseas applicants. ​II. Amendments to Korean Trademark Examination Procedures​  Revised Korean trademark examination regulations came into effect on July 1, 2026, introducing several procedural changes intended to improve the efficiency and fairness of trademark examination. Under the revised regulations, experienced examiners may decide routine cases without additional internal approval, allowing straightforward applications to proceed more efficiently through the examination process. The amendments also clarify the operation of the partial refusal system. Where examination of a later-filed application has been suspended because of a prior-filed application, the ground for suspension is deemed to have been resolved once the refusal of the prior application becomes final and the designated goods are no longer considered identical or similar. In addition, where an applicant does not respond to an Office Action, the previously required duplicate notice issued before a final refusal may be omitted, allowing both refusals and registrations to proceed more promptly. To enhance procedural fairness, applications remanded by the Intellectual Property Trial and Appeal Board (IPTAB) will now be reassigned to a different examiner rather than being reviewed by the examiner who originally issued the refusal. Although the amendments do not change the substantive standards for trademark examination, they are expected to streamline examination procedures, shorten examination time, and enhance procedural fairness, particularly in remanded cases.