Korea, China patent tribunals share invalidation practice as Chinese filings climb

The Korea Intellectual Property Office said Tuesday that its patent tribunal convened a Korea-China patent trial users' workshop in Seoul, bringing together about 100 experts from both countries as patent invalidation filings in China continue to rise.

The one-day meeting at the Korea Intellectual Property Center in Gangnam district was organized to share the two countries' trial systems and key rulings, and to strengthen Korean companies' ability to handle intellectual property disputes in China, the office said. Patent invalidation requests in China rose about 31 percent to roughly 9,300 in 2025 from about 7,100 in 2022, according to the China National Intellectual Property Administration.

The Chinese delegation was led by Wu Tongyi, a division director at CNIPA's reexamination and invalidation appeals department, and included four officials in total, alongside patent trial specialists, company representatives and patent attorneys from both sides.

In the first session, the two sides presented the status of patent trial filings and handling and recent trends in how their systems operate, and shared practical information on trial procedures and points to note when filing. The Chinese side explained its invalidation hearing process and the requirements for amending patent claims.

The second session compared major cases from both countries on inventive step, a central issue in invalidation trials. Chinese officials presented invalidation cases involving food delivery systems and bicycle derailleurs, setting out how they assess differences from prior art, the technical problem addressed and whether prior-art references can be combined.

"As the need to protect our companies' intellectual property rights in China grows, understanding the local patent trial system and ruling trends is important," said Kim Ki-beom, head of the patent tribunal. "I hope this workshop provides practical help for our companies in responding to patent disputes in China."

The two sides will hold a meeting of Korean and Chinese patent trial experts on Wednesday to discuss amendment and hearing practice in invalidation cases, artificial intelligence-based support for trials, links between trials and mediation, and the use of outside experts, the office said.