Patent attorney, how long does the term of a patent right last?

Hello.

Pursuant to Article 88(1) of the Patent Act, the term of a patent right is designated as lasting until the day on which 20 years have elapsed from the filing date of the patent application.

However, there are cases in which, in order to work a patented invention, permission must be obtained or registration must be completed under other statutes, and obtaining that permission or registration takes considerable time.

For patents in certain fields, if the requirements are met, the term of the patent right may be extended only once, for a period of up to 5 years.

Cases in which the extension of a patent term is available include testing for the approval of an active pharmaceutical ingredient and testing for the item approval of psychotropic drugs or narcotics, among others.

If the term of a patent right has expired, the exclusive license and other rights that could have been exercised together with the patent also lapse, so infringement of the patent right may not be recognized either.

Therefore, please be mindful in advance that, once the term of a patent right expires, all rights that were protected under civil, criminal, and administrative law disappear, and it is advisable to have the matter reviewed by a patent attorney.

To prevent legal issues related to this, it is advisable to seek advice from a patent attorney in advance.