Improving the design system to overcome economic difficulties In order to relieve the burden of applicants facing financial difficulties, the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO, Commissioner: Jung-Sik Koh) is planning to change the method of paying for overdue design registration fees and introduce a reexamination system starting on July 1st. Due to the recent global economic crisis, many applicants are facing economic difficulties. To support them, KIPO will introduce a new system of paying for overdue design registration fees. Under the new system, overdue fees will be charged from 120% to 150% of the original fees based on the date of payment, given that they are paid within six months from the term of payment. Compared to the indiscriminate penalty of 200% currently applied for overdue fees, the new system will ease the burden of many applicants. KIPO is also planning to simplify the reexamination procedure by allowing applicants to amend their designs during the examination stage. Previously, applicants who received rejection letters for their design registration (due to reasons such as inconsistent design, etc) had to appeal the ruling to the Industrial Property Tribunal, and then amend their designs. The simplified reexamination procedure will save costs for trials and allow applicants secure design rights more easily. In addition, the provisions of the Patent Law Application, which stands at more than 100, will be directly applied to the Design Protection Law as well, so that individuals can understand the Design Protection Law more easily without referring to the Patent Law. KIPO will continue its effort of finding/eliminating the inconveniences faced by applicants, establishing a realistic design protection system, and reinforcing the global competitiveness of design rights. <Obtained from the website of KIPO (http://www.kipo.go.kr/kpo/eng); posted on July 13, 2009>