Korea IP Law — Korean Patent Filing: PCT National Phase & Paris Convention

About the operator

Run by E-BIRD IP — a leading Korean patent firm, not a faceless platform.

E-BIRD IP (이버드 특허법인) · Teheran-ro, Gangnam, Seoul · www.ebirdpat.com

E-BIRD IP is a full-service Korean IP firm of about 30 professionals — patent attorneys and specialists covering electronics, semiconductors, IT/software/AI, chemistry, materials and content IP. The firm prosecutes patents, trademarks and designs for clients ranging from Korean and global large corporations to research institutes, universities and startups, and handles contentious matters (trials and litigation support) as well.

✓1,300+ patent and trademark filings in the last 12 months at the Korean IP Office, with a registration rate of 81.4%.
✓Client-needs-driven prosecution: throughout filing and Office Action practice, we prosecute to obtain the rights the client actually wants — claims shaped around your commercial objectives, not just "any registration".
✓Corporate-grade security: the same secure case-management infrastructure we use for large-corporate client matters protects every case filed through this site.
✓AI where it belongs: quotation, engagement and filing logistics are automated for speed and price — professional judgment never is.

LIVE ACTIVITY · UPDATED MONTHLY

New IP filings per month — Korean IP Office

1,330 new filings in the last 12 months (Aug 2025 – Jul 2026) · updated monthly

1,330filings · last 12 months

81.4%registration rate

30IP professionals

Why this price is possible

Automation cuts the cost of procedure — never the quality of judgment.

Our fee is a fraction of traditional foreign-associate rates because we automated exactly the parts that should be automated, and only those.

🤖 AI-automated (speed & price)

Instant quotation — language detection, length count, fee computation
Case-fee assessment against E-BIRD's published rate matrix
Attorney matching by procedure and technical field
Engagement paperwork — POA and forms auto-generated
Docketing, deadline monitoring and filing logistics

⚖ Performed by E-BIRD attorneys (substance)

Professional review of every case — first comment within 24 hours
Translation check of claims and technical terms
All dealings with the Korean IP Office
Office Action responses — arguments and amendments
Dispute and trial work, if it ever comes to that

How it works

Five steps from quote to filed — most of them automated, all of them attorney-supervised.

Instant quote

Enter your PCT number — or your home application details for a Paris Convention filing — or upload the specification. Attorney fees, translation and KIPO official fees are itemized on the spot.

~30 seconds

AI attorney matching

Our system analyzes the procedure and technical field of your case and assigns the best-fit E-BIRD patent attorney — named to you immediately, with their credentials.

Immediate

Engage online

Accept the engagement letter online. We generate your Power of Attorney — a simple signed scan is all Korea requires. No notarization.

No paperwork burden

Translation & filing

Specification translated into Korean (AI-assisted, attorney-checked) and filed with KIPO. Translation & official fees are invoiced at engagement; the attorney fee only after filing.

Filed before deadline

Report + first comment

Within 24 hours of engagement you receive the filing plan and your attorney's first comment: deadline status, claim-fee optimization, examination strategy.

A real opinion, in writing

Fee schedule

Published fees — the whole schedule, not just the teaser.

Most providers hide their numbers behind a quote request. We publish ours, including what comes after filing, so you can budget the entire life of the case.

Patent filing — PCT entry or Paris route

USD 460–580

AI-assessed per case in under 1 minute, on published criteria only: claim count, technical field, applicant type. Once assessed, the fee is fixed for your case — it never changes after engagement. Official fee ₩46,000 (~$33) at cost.

Invoiced after filing

Translation into Korean

from USD 18 / 100 words

English→Korean USD 18/100 words · Japanese→Korean USD 10/100 characters · Chinese→Korean USD 11/100 characters (minimum charge USD 300). Other languages quoted within 24h. AI-assisted, checked by a Korean patent professional.

Request for examination

USD 200

+ official fee ₩166,000 + ₩51,000 per claim. Deferrable up to 3 years from the (international) filing date — we docket it for free.

Office Action response

USD 200–400

Standard OA response (argument + amendment). Appeals against final rejection and divisional filings quoted separately.

Hard cap: USD 400 per OA

Registration

USD 380

Decision-to-grant handling, payment of 1st–3rd year annuities (official fees at cost), registration certificate.

Annuity management

USD 100 / year

Deadline monitoring free of charge for every case we file. Payment handling USD 100/yr + official fees at cost.

KIPO official fees (billed at cost — no markup)

Item		KRW (≈USD)
Patent filing / national phase entry (electronic)	flat — no per-claim fee at filing	₩46,000 (~$33)
Priority claim (Paris route, per priority)		₩18,000 (~$13)
Request for examination — base	within 3 yrs of (int'l) filing date	₩166,000 (~$120)
Request for examination — per claim		₩51,000 (~$37)
Translation deadline extension (+1 month)	PCT route; request within 31 months	₩20,000 (~$15)
Annuities, years 1–3 (due at grant)	per year	₩13,000 + ₩12,000/claim

Figures per the Korean fee collection rules as of 2026; official fees are invoiced at the actual amount charged by KIPO at the time of payment.

Your attorneys

A named E-BIRD patent attorney on every case — matched to your technology.

When you engage, our system analyzes your case's procedure and technical field and assigns the best-fit attorney. You are always told who is responsible for your case, by name.

Min Seok Choi 최민석

Managing Partner · Korean Patent Attorney

IT · SoftwareAIElectronicsContent IP

Korean Patent Attorney since 2009 (46th examination); licensed electrical engineer. Leads E-BIRD's international and inbound practice, supervising every case filed through this platform.

Myung Gi Lee 이명기

Korean Patent Attorney

MaterialsSemiconductorsIT · AI/SW

Korean Patent Attorney (57th examination, 2021) — achieved the nation's top score in patent law. Handles materials, semiconductor and software prosecution, including complex multi-priority families.

Hyo Seop Lee 이효섭

Korean Patent Attorney

SemiconductorsITEquipment

Korean Patent Attorney (57th examination, 2021). Extensive experience prosecuting large-scale, multi-jurisdictional semiconductor patent portfolios for a global top-tier electronics maker.

FAQ

The questions foreign counsel actually ask us.

What are the deadlines to file in Korea — PCT and Paris route?

PCT national phase: 31 months from the earliest priority date. Korea also allows a 1-month extension for filing the Korean translation (to 32 months) if requested within the 31-month period — official fee ₩20,000. There is no general "late entry" grace period, so if your deadline is close, engage us first and send documents after. Paris Convention filing: 12 months from the earliest priority date — but Korea accepts English-language filing, so we can file your English text by the 12-month deadline and submit the Korean translation within 14 months of the priority date.

Can you file a direct Korean application under the Paris Convention instead of PCT?

Yes — same published fees (AI-assessed filing fee + translation at the per-language rate). We file within 12 months of your earliest priority, claim priority, and handle the certified priority documents via WIPO DAS (due within 16 months of the priority date — usually just a DAS access code from you). If the 12-month deadline is days away, the English-language filing route lets us file immediately and translate afterwards.

How is the filing fee "AI-assessed", and can it change later?

The fee is determined within the published USD 460–580 band by a fixed algorithm using three criteria only: number of claims, technical field, and applicant type. The assessment runs in under a minute during quotation, and the resulting fee is locked for your case — it cannot increase after engagement. No black box: the criteria are published, the band is capped.

What documents do you need from us?

Remarkably little: applicant details, the PCT number (or home application details for Paris route), and a signed Power of Attorney — a simple scanned signature, no notarization or legalization, and it may even be regularized after filing. No inventor declarations, no certified translations, no priority documents for PCT cases (WIPO already holds them). We generate every form for you.

Do we have to request examination when we enter?

No. Examination can be requested up to 3 years from the (international) filing date, and the official fee (₩166,000 + ₩51,000 per claim) is only due then. Most clients defer. We docket the deadline free of charge, and before requesting we advise whether trimming claims would cut the official fee — often it does, materially.

Who does the work — AI or attorneys?

Both, with a strict division. Quotation, fee assessment, attorney matching, paperwork generation and docketing are automated — that is why the price is what it is. Everything substantive — professional review, translation check of claims and technical terms, all dealings with the Korean IP Office, Office Action responses, disputes — is performed by the registered patent attorneys of E-BIRD IP, a major Korean firm handling matters for Korean and global large corporations.

Is my unpublished specification safe if I upload it for a quote?

Yes. Files uploaded for quotation are analyzed only within E-BIRD's own secure environment — language detection and length counting run on our own infrastructure, with no transfer to external AI services or any third party. We are a patent firm: your materials are covered by our statutory confidentiality obligations as Korean patent attorneys, stored encrypted on the same corporate-grade platform we use for large-corporate client matters, and deleted if you choose not to engage us.

What are your payment terms?

Translation and official fees are invoiced when you engage us (these are costs we incur immediately). The AI-assessed attorney fee (USD 460–580) is invoiced only after your application is filed at KIPO. Law-firm clients may apply for invoice terms on account.

Is this site really run by a law firm?

Yes — this service is operated by E-BIRD IP (이버드 특허법인), a registered Korean patent firm at 2F SamYoung Bldg., 437 Teheran-ro, Gangnam-gu, Seoul (www.ebirdpat.com). Filing before the Korean IP Office on behalf of foreign applicants may only be done by registered Korean patent attorneys, and that is who handles your case here.

File your patent in Korea with published fees — reviewed by a Korean patent attorney within 24 hours.