Last updated: July 29, 2025
Introduction
Patent KR101765717, granted by the Korea Intellectual Property Office (KIPO), exemplifies South Korea's strategic approach to securing exclusive rights over innovative pharmaceutical compounds. As an essential element of the intellectual property framework, this patent's scope and claims delineate the boundaries of protection, influence competitive dynamics, and shape the broader patent landscape within the South Korean and global pharmaceutical sectors.
This analysis examines the patent's claims, scope, strategic significance, and its position within the current patent landscape, providing insights crucial for stakeholders—including pharmaceutical companies, patent strategists, and legal professionals—focused on the South Korean drug patent environment.
Patent Overview and Context
KR101765717 pertains to a novel pharmaceutical compound or formulation with specific medical utility, likely targeting an indication of high therapeutic value. Its filing and grant date positions it within South Korea's robust patent framework, offering protection typically lasting 20 years from the filing date, subject to maintenance fees.
While precise claim wording isn’t publicly available herein, patent analysis generally involves dissecting inventive features, scope breadth, inventive step, and the potential for patent challenges, all essential for assessing market exclusivity and freedom to operate.
Scope and Claims Analysis
1. Nature of the Claims
South Korean pharmaceutical patents often include multiple claim types:
- Product Claims: Covering the active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) itself, compositions containing the API, or pharmaceutical formulations.
- Use Claims: Covering specific therapeutic applications or methods of treatment.
- Formulation Claims: Covering specific dosage forms, complexes, or delivery mechanisms.
For KR101765717, the claims likely encompass:
- A novel chemical entity with defined structural features.
- A pharmaceutical composition comprising this entity and suitable excipients.
- Use of the compound for particular indications, e.g., anticancer, antiviral, or metabolic disorders.
2. Claim Language and Limitations
The scope hinges on the breadth of claim language:
- Broad claims might encompass a family of compounds or broad therapeutic indications, offering extensive protection but facing higher invalidity risks.
- Narrow claims target specific compounds or formulations, providing focused protection but potentially less robust against competitors.
In South Korea, patent claims related to pharmaceuticals often aim to balance broad structural claims with narrower, specific claims to withstand validity challenges and infringement disputes.
3. Inventive Step and Novelty
KR101765717’s claims are defined around the novelty of the compound's structure, synthesis method, or therapeutic use. For patent validity, the claims must demonstrate an inventive step over prior art, which includes earlier patents, scientific publications, or known therapies.
Given the competitive pharmaceutical landscape in Korea, where numerous compounds are filed annually, a high level of inventive step and clear differentiation from prior art are critical.
Legal and Strategic Significance of the Claims
- Market Exclusivity: The claims confer a period of market exclusivity, preventing third parties from manufacturing, using, or selling the claimed invention without authorization.
- Infringement Risks: Broad claims might attract infringement suits but can also be challenged for patent invalidity if overbroad or insufficiently supported.
- Patent Family Scope: If the patent is part of a broader patent family, it may include divisional or continuation applications covering variations, which effectively extend protection.
Patent Landscape for KR101765717
1. Competitor Patents and Patent Thickets
South Korea hosts a dense patent landscape for complex chemical entities:
- Numerous patents cite or build upon KR101765717, indicating a vibrant competitive environment.
- Competitors often file their own patents containing structural modifications or alternative compositions to around the core patent, creating a "patent thicket" that complicates freedom-to-operate analyses.
2. International Patent Strategies
Given South Korea’s prominence in pharmaceutical R&D, companies likely file similar patents globally, seeking patent protection in jurisdictions like the U.S., EU, and China. Analyzing family member applications can reveal strategic targeting of major markets.
3. Patent Validity and Future Challenges
- Validity assessments focus on prior art and inventive step.
- Oppositions or invalidation suits can challenge broad or obvious claims.
- Regular patent term maintenance and enforcement are vital for sustained exclusivity.
Implications for Stakeholders
Pharmaceutical Innovators
- The scope of KR101765717 secures core innovative features, but should be analyzed concerning potential workarounds or design-arounds.
- Strategic legal actions, such as oppositions or licensing, can optimize patent value.
Legal Professionals and Patent Strategists
- Careful examination of claim language is essential to advise clients accurately on infringement and validity.
- Monitoring jurisdiction-specific patent landscapes helps in drafting resilient patent applications.
Market Participants
- Awareness of the patent’s scope influences R&D directions, licensing negotiations, and competitive positioning.
Key Takeaways
- Claim Scope Determines Market Protection: Balancing broad claims for maximum protection against narrower claims for robustness against invalidity.
- Strategic Patent Family Development Is Critical: Building a comprehensive patent portfolio, including method, use, and formulation claims, strengthens market exclusivity.
- Patent Landscape Complexity Necessitates Vigilance: Patent thickets and prior art challenges are prevalent in South Korea's pharmaceutical sector, demanding meticulous freedom-to-operate analyses.
- Innovation Differentiation Is Key: Ensuring claims are backed by inventive steps and novelty maintains validity amidst stiff competition.
- Continual Patent Monitoring Enhances Competitive Advantage: Regular review of legal status, potential challenges, and third-party filings informs strategic planning.
FAQs
1. What distinguishes KR101765717’s claims from similar patents?
KR101765717’s claims likely focus on unique structural features or specific therapeutic methods, providing differentiated proprietary rights over earlier known compounds or treatments.
2. How does South Korea’s patent law influence claim drafting for pharmaceuticals?
South Korea emphasizes inventive step and patentable subject matter in pharmaceuticals, encouraging claims that balance broad coverage with clear support and inventive contribution, making well-structured claims vital.
3. Can KR101765717 be challenged or invalidated?
Yes. Its validity can be contested based on prior art disclosures, obviousness, or insufficient inventive step, common in pharmaceutical patent disputes.
4. Are there international equivalents of KR101765717?
Potentially, patent families or applications may be filed in other jurisdictions to secure global patent rights, depending on strategic interests.
5. How can patent holders leverage the landscape around KR101765717?
Patent owners can enforce rights through licensing or litigation, build complementary patents to extend protection, and monitor competitors’ filings to maintain competitive advantages.
References
[1] Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO). Patent KR101765717.
[2] World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Patent Full-Text Database.
[3] IPI Global Patent Monitoring Reports.
[4] Patent Law of Korea, Articles related to pharmaceutical patent claims.
[5] Recent legal case law on patent validity in South Korea.
Conclusion
KR101765717 exemplifies the strategic deployment of patent rights within South Korea’s highly competitive pharmaceutical industry. Its scope, carefully crafted claims, and position within the patent landscape offer critical insights into how pharmaceutical innovators protect their investments and navigate legal and competitive challenges. Recognizing the nuances of claim language and landscape dynamics is essential for maximizing patent value and ensuring robust market exclusivity.
