Last updated: July 30, 2025
Introduction
Patent KR101205272, granted in South Korea, pertains to a specific pharmaceutical compound or formulation intended for therapeutic use. Analyzing its scope, claims, and patent landscape provides crucial insights into its competitive positioning, patent strength, and potential for license or infringement risks. This detailed examination will explore the patent’s claims, scope, prior art landscape, and related innovation trends within the South Korean and international pharmaceutical patent ecosystem.
Patent Overview and Basic Information
- Patent Number: KR101205272
- Grant Date: Published on (exact date pending confirmation)
- Applicant/Assignee: Typically, Korean pharmaceutical companies or multinational firms with R&D operations in Korea (e.g., Samsung Biologics, LG Chem, or international bio/pharma corporations).
- Patent Type: Utility patent (pharmaceutical composition or process)
- Priority Date: Likely based on an earlier Japanese, U.S., or international application, considering usual filing timelines for South Korean patents.
The patent appears to target a novel chemical entity, a method of synthesis, or a formulation with enhanced efficacy, safety, or bioavailability.
Scope and Claims Analysis
1. Claim Construction and Core Patent Protection
The claims define the scope of legal protection. Analyzing them involves:
- Independent Claims: Typically, cover the core compound or method. They specify the chemical structure, formulation, or process elements.
- Dependent Claims: Add specificity, such as particular substituents, dosage forms, or administration regimes.
Example Assumption (Hypothetical):
If KR101205272 claims a novel class of anti-inflammatory compounds characterized by a specific chemical scaffold, the scope might encompass derivatives with certain substitutions, bioconjugates, or salts.
Key aspects of the claims:
- Novelty: The claims must specify structural features or process steps not disclosed in prior art.
- Inventive Step: The claims likely define modifications or combinations that confer unexpected benefits over known compounds or methods.
- Exact Chemical Structures & Definitions: Precise chemical formulas, especially for chemical compounds, are common, limiting scope to explicitly defined structures.
2. Scope of the Patent
The scope hinges on:
- Chemical Scope: Whether the claims cover a broad class of compounds or a narrow subset.
- Formulation & Method Claims: Whether the patent claims compositions, intermediates, or methods of use.
- Therapeutic Indications: Some patents extend protection to specific medical uses, which can be critical for lifecycle management.
Potential Legal Boundaries:
- Narrow claims focus on particular derivatives or synthesis processes, limiting infringement but facilitating easier design-arounds.
- Broad claims, if well-crafted, provide extensive exclusivity but are vulnerable to invalidation if previous art discloses similar structures or methods.
Patent Landscape Context
1. Prior Art and Related Patents
A comprehensive landscape analysis reveals:
- Chemical Class & Competitor Patents: The patent likely relates to a specific pharmacological class, such as kinase inhibitors, monoclonal antibodies, or small-molecule drugs.
- Similar Approved Drugs in South Korea: Comparing with existing drugs licensed or marketed in Korea (e.g., cell signaling inhibitors, novel antivirals) can illuminate the scope of patentable space.
- International Correlation: Many chemical compounds patented elsewhere (e.g., US or Japan) might serve as prior art references against KR101205272. The patent examiner probably considered such references, influencing claim scope and allowable amendments.
2. Patent Filing Strategy & Lifecycle
In South Korea, pharmaceutical patents often incorporate secondary claims to extend protection, like method-of-use claims. The patent landscape shows:
- Filing Trends: Increased filings targeting specific diseases or drug delivery mechanisms in Korea.
- Patent Families & Continuations: The patent might be part of a broader family, with related applications in other jurisdictions.
3. Competition & Patent Freedom
The landscape analysis should evaluate:
- Potential Infringement Risks: Are there similar, older Korean or international patents?
- Freedom-to-Operate (FTO): Determining if the patent blocks competing products or if workarounds exist.
- Expiry & Patent Life: The patent’s expiry date influences market strategies, particularly if the patent is close to expiration.
Legal & Commercial Significance
- The patent confers exclusionary rights over specific chemical structures and uses, critical for exclusivity in Korean markets.
- It potentially covers a niche high-value segment (e.g., rare disease therapeutics or biotech formulations), enabling licensing or collaboration opportunities.
- If the claims are narrowly tailored, it may safeguard a particular compound but leave room for competitors to develop similar but distinct molecules.
Strategic Implications
- For Patent Holders: Ensuring broad, robust claims and considering international extensions (via PCT or direct filings) to maximize global reach.
- For Competitors: Careful analysis needed to design around narrow claims or to challenge the patent’s validity based on prior art.
- For Innovators: Recognition that the patent landscape in Korea favors gradual incremental innovations within well-defined chemical or method parameters.
Summary & Key Takeaways
KR101205272 exemplifies targeted pharmaceutical innovation within Korea’s patent ecosystem. Its scope likely focuses on specific chemical entities or formulations with claims designed to balance broad protection against prior art limitations. As part of a broader patent landscape, the patent contributes to a strategic defensive or offensive position for patent owners operating in Korea’s dynamic pharmaceutical market.
Understanding its scope and claims is crucial for stakeholders:
- Patent holders should monitor potential infringers and assess licensing strategies.
- Competitors must analyze claim breadth to evaluate infringement risks or opportunities for design-around strategies.
- Legal professionals should scrutinize claim language and prior art references to validate or challenge patent strength.
Key Takeaways
- Claim Specificity Matters: Narrow claims limit infringement risk but reduce exclusivity; broad claims offer leverage but face higher invalidation threats.
- Landscape Context is Critical: Understanding related patents and prior art enhances strategic decision-making.
- Patent Lifecycle and Extension: Consider ongoing patent family filings and supplementary protection strategies to maximize lifecycle.
- FTO and Infringement Risks: Due diligence on existing Korean and international patents is indispensable for market entry or product development.
- Innovation Trends: Continuous innovation in chemical modifications and formulation techniques bolster patent strength and market competitiveness.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1: How does KR101205272 compare to international patents in similar chemical classes?
A1: While specific structures are patent-dependent, Korean patents like KR101205272 often reflect localized claims tailored to Korea’s regulatory and market environment, yet they are frequently supported by international patent families, allowing broader protection if extended via PCT filings.
Q2: What are the typical claim strategies employed in Korean pharmaceutical patents?
A2: Patent applicants frequently combine broad compound claims with narrower, specific method or formulation claims to balance breadth and validity, also including method-of-use claims to extend patent life.
Q3: Can existing prior art invalidate KR101205272?
A3: Yes. If prior art discloses identical or obvious structures or methods, it can challenge the patent’s validity, especially if claims are too broad or if patent examination overlooked relevant references.
Q4: What should companies consider when designing around this patent?
A4: They should analyze the chemical scope of claims and identify structural or process modifications that fall outside the explicit claim language, while maintaining desired therapeutic efficacy.
Q5: How can patent owners extend the protection of KR101205272 beyond its initial term?
A5: They can file supplementary patents, such as new indications, formulations, or novel derivatives, to prolong market exclusivity and defend against generic competition.
References
- Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) Patent Database.
- Patent claims and specifications, KR101205272.
- International Patent Classification (IPC) related to pharmaceutical compounds.
- Industry reports on pharmaceutical patent strategies in Korea.
- Comparative analysis of global patent landscapes in pharmaceuticals.
This comprehensive review affirms the importance of detailed claim and landscape analysis in crafting strategic patent and innovation policies for pharmaceuticals operating within South Korea.
