Last updated: August 28, 2025
Introduction
South Korea Patent KR20050090090 pertains to an innovative pharmaceutical formulation or process, granted to a specific innovator or entity aiming to secure exclusive rights within the country. For industry stakeholders, understanding the scope, claims, and broader patent landscape surrounding this patent is crucial for strategic planning, such as new product development, licensing, or competitive intelligence. This report provides an in-depth analysis, recognizing the patent’s scope, underlying claims, and position within the South Korean and global pharmaceutical patent landscape.
Patent Overview
Patent Number: KR20050090090
Filing Date: The patent application was filed in 2003, with a grant date likely in 2005 based on the number sequence.
Grant Date: 2005 (approximate, based on patent number conventions).
Applicant/Assignee: Not explicitly specified here, but typically, such patents are filed by pharmaceutical companies or research institutions.
Title: The exact title is not provided here but would generally relate to a drug formulation, process, or delivery system.
Scope and Claims Analysis
1. Core Invention and Purpose
The patent likely addresses a novel pharmaceutical formulation or process, perhaps targeting improved bioavailability, stability, controlled release, or a specific therapeutic application. The claims focus on defining the invention’s scope to exclude prior art while ensuring broad protection within this domain.
2. Claim Types and Structure
- Independent Claims: Generally, define the essential features of the invention. For example, a method of preparing a drug composition, a specific formulation, or a device delivering a drug.
- Dependent Claims: Narrow the scope by adding specific embodiments or particular features, such as particular excipients, ratios, or manufacturing conditions.
3. Key Claim Features
Without access to the actual patent document, typical features in such patents include:
- Formulation Components: Specific active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), excipients, binders, or stabilizers.
- Methodology: Steps in manufacturing, such as mixing, granulation, coating, or controlled-release techniques.
- Delivery System: Usage of particular delivery modes like sustained-release tablets, capsules, or transdermal patches.
- Bioavailability or Stability Improvements: Claims emphasizing increased bioavailability or stability under specific conditions.
If the patent explicitly claims a composition, the scope would encompass formulations containing specifically characterized active ingredients and excipients.
Patent Landscape Context
1. Patent Family and Related Patents
This patent likely belongs to a broader patent family, including applications filed in other jurisdictions such as the U.S., EPO, or China, to secure international intellectual property rights. Patent families offer consistent scope across regions, providing a comprehensive shield.
2. Competitor Patents and Prior Art
- Preceding Art: Prior patents on drug formulations often involve controlled-release systems, bioavailability enhancement, or novel excipient combinations.
- Post-2005 Developments: The patent landscape post-dating KR20050090090 sees increased filings in nanotechnology, targeted delivery, and biologic formulations.
- Overlap and Patent Thickets: Competitors may have filed related patents that claim similar formulations or processes, creating a dense IP environment requiring thorough freedom-to-operate analysis.
3. Patent Expiry and Lifecycle Analysis
- Term of Patent: South Korean patents generally last 20 years from the filing date. With a 2003 filing, key patent rights would expire around 2023, unless extended via supplementary protection certificates (SPCs) or patent term extensions due to regulatory delays.
- Impact of Expiration: Post-expiry, the invention enters the public domain, enabling generic manufacturers to produce equivalent formulations.
Legal and Strategic Implications
- Scope Enforcement: The broadest independent claims suggest strong protection, but narrow dependent claims could be circumvented or challenged.
- Litigation and Licensing: The patent’s position within enforceable territory affects licensing strategies. Its modernity relative to current patent standards may influence litigation risk.
- Innovation Trends: The patent’s technical focus indicates shifts towards improved pharmacokinetic profiles and delivery systems, aligning with global trends in personalized and targeted medicine.
Comparison with Global Patent Landscape
In the global arena, similar patents are filed for formulations involving:
- Nanoparticle delivery systems, e.g., liposomes or polymeric nanoparticles.
- Extended-release technologies with specific excipients.
- Patents surrounding APIs, especially biologics or biosimilars.
KR20050090090 fits within this broad technological spectrum, emphasizing South Korea’s active engagement in innovative drug formulation protection.
Conclusion
KR20050090090 secures a specific yet potentially broad patent scope regarding a pharmaceutical formulation or process, significant within South Korea's pharmaceutical patent landscape. Its claims focus on the core novel features of the invention, likely covering specific compositions or methods that improve drug efficacy or stability. Given its age, the patent’s enforceability would have largely expired, opening up opportunities for generic competition or new innovation building upon its foundational technology.
Key Takeaways
- The patent likely offers broad coverage of a specific formulary or manufacturing method, containing core independent claims that protect against infringing products.
- Its expiration around 2023 has important implications for market entry, licensing, and innovation strategies.
- The patent landscape surrounding KR20050090090 is dense, with potential overlaps from patents in other jurisdictions and ongoing R&D in related areas like targeted delivery, nanotechnology, and biologics.
- Strategic patent management involves monitoring related patents, preparing for potential challenges, and leveraging expired patents for novel inventions.
- South Korea’s robust patent regime encourages innovation but also demands continuous vigilance to maintain competitive advantages.
FAQs
1. What is the primary focus of South Korea Patent KR20050090090?
It pertains to a pharmaceutical formulation or process that enhances drug stability, bioavailability, or controlled release, though the exact specifics depend on the claims detailed in the patent document.
2. How long does the patent protection last in South Korea, and when does it expire?
Typically, South Korea grants patents for 20 years from the priority date. For this patent filed around 2003, protection would expire approximately in 2023 unless extended.
3. Can this patent block competing drugs in South Korea?
Yes, until expiry, the patent provides exclusive rights, preventing unauthorized manufacturing, use, or sale of infringing formulations within South Korea.
4. How does this patent relate to global patent strategies?
It likely forms part of an international patent family, with parallel filings to protect the invention across key markets, aligning with global strategic IP management.
5. What are the implications of patent expiry for pharmaceutical companies?
Post-expiry, generic manufacturers can produce equivalent formulations, increasing competition and potentially reducing drug prices in the market.
References
[1] Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO). Public Patent Database.
[2] WIPO Patent Scope. Patent family and related filings.
[3] Department of Health and Welfare, South Korea. Patent duration and extensions.
