"Youth Startups and AI Patents to Be Examined Within a Month"... Ministry of Intellectual Property Expands Expedited Reviews

[Financial News] The patent examination period for youth-founded startups and future core-technology fields will be shortened from around 20 months to less than one month.
Jeong Yeon-woo, deputy head of the Ministry of Intellectual Property, said at a briefing held at the Government Complex in Daejeon on the 15th that the expedited patent examination system, which reduces the waiting period for patent examination to within one month, will be expanded starting in November to youth-founded startups, Artificial Intelligence (AI) data centers, and Physical AI.
In February, the Ministry of Intellectual Property introduced expedited examinations for AI and biotechnology startups, dramatically reducing the average waiting period for regular examinations from 20 months to about 1.0 month.
In one case, Company A, a Physical AI startup developing industrial robots for shipbuilding, received its first examination result 17 days after applying through the expedited system. Venture Company B, which is developing AI for cancer diagnosis, also received its result in 27 days, significantly bringing forward the timing of securing technology rights and entering the market.
Based on these cases, the Ministry of Intellectual Property will substantially expand the scope of support beyond specific technology fields to youth-founded startups as a whole. As a result, youth-founded startups in various sectors—not only AI and biotechnology—will be able to receive patent examination results more quickly.
Support for national core technologies will also be strengthened. Technologies related to AI data centers and Physical AI will be newly included among the priority and expedited examination targets, expanding beyond the previous focus on semiconductors to help secure global leadership in future industries. However, to prevent delays in regular examinations, the support will be limited to about 4,000 cases annually, with detailed requirements scheduled to be announced in November.
A total of 1,284 applications for expedited examinations were recorded from the system's introduction in October last year through August this year. Small and midsize companies accounted for 60% of the applications, or 774 cases, making them the most active users of the system. Large companies followed at 20%, and individuals at 14.7%. While the average waiting period for examination across all technology fields was 14.7 months, backlogs were particularly severe in AI and biotechnology, at 21.3 and 19.9 months, respectively, due to a surge in applications. The introduction of expedited examinations has been evaluated as a breakthrough that helped companies establish commercialization strategies more quickly.
Meanwhile, the expansion of expedited examinations is expected to help youth-founded startups struggling to attract investment secure funding. Venture capital firms and financial institutions use patent registration as a key indicator when assessing a startup's technology value. Analysts say patents secured within one month could serve as a reliable asset that accelerates initial fundraising and the execution of intellectual property-backed loans.
Jeong said, "For startups, patents are more than simple rights; they are core assets for attracting investment and entering the market." He added, "We will actively expand support to youth-founded startups and national core technologies so that innovative ideas can be protected and commercialized at an early stage."
[email protected] Kim Won-jun Reporter