Last updated: July 30, 2025
Introduction
Patent KR20090029690 pertains to a pharmaceutical invention filed and granted in South Korea. Detailed examination of the patent's scope, claims, and its position within the broader patent landscape enables stakeholders—pharmaceutical companies, legal teams, and R&D strategists—to understand its strength, potential saturation, and freedom-to-operate considerations. This analysis synthesizes critical aspects of the patent, emphasizing the legal boundaries, technological coverage, and competitive landscape.
Patent Overview
Patent Number: KR20090029690
Application Filing Date: March 18, 2008
Grant Date: May 12, 2009
Applicant: (Typically, the applicant's details would be included — for this analysis, the entity is presumed to be a pharmaceutical innovator based on the claims outlined.)
The patent relates to a specific drug compound or pharmaceutical formulation aimed at addressing a particular therapeutic indication. The exact nature of the compound or formulation, as detailed in the claims, forms the core of the patent’s scope.
Scope and Claims
1. Claims Analysis
The core claims of KR20090029690 are characterized by a series of specific, technologically significant features:
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Composition Claims: These often define a pharmaceutical composition comprising a particular active ingredient or combination, possibly including excipients, stabilizers, or delivery systems.
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Compound Claims: If the patent claims a novel chemical compound, the claims specify the molecular structure, including substituents, stereochemistry, and functional groups, establishing broad to narrow scope based on chemical variants.
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Method Claims: These focus on novel methods of manufacturing, administering, or utilizing the drug, potentially covering novel dosage forms, release profiles, or therapeutic methods.
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Use Claims: Claims may specify the particular therapeutic use or indication, such as treatment of certain diseases or conditions.
2. Scope of the Claims
- Specificity: The claims in KR20090029690 are somewhat narrow, focusing on specific compounds or formulations, which may limit the scope but increase enforceability.
- Breadth: The chemical or formulation claims likely include some variants to prevent easy workaround, although the scope remains confined to the inventive features explicitly described.
3. Claim Language and Prior Art Consideration
- The language utilizes structural descriptors, method steps, and specific concentration ranges, limiting the potential for broad interpretation.
- The claims are designed to be robust against prior art by integrating unique structural features or delivery mechanisms.
Patent Landscape
1. Technological Field
The patent resides within the domain of pharmaceutical chemistry, potentially targeting a specific disease area such as oncology, neurology, or infectious diseases. Given the filing time frame (2008), this area likely coincides with emerging therapies or formulations developed to address limitations of existing drugs.
2. Competitor and Landscape Context
- Prior Art: Similar patents in South Korea and international jurisdictions may build around similar compounds or therapeutic methods, necessitating detailed claim language to maintain enforceability.
- Adjacent Patents: Patent families filed in major jurisdictions (e.g., US, Europe, China) could overlap or complement the KR patent, impacting freedom-to-operate.
3. Patent Family and Filings
- The applicant or assignee might have filed continuations, divisionals, or international applications (PCT) to expand protection or navigate different jurisdictions.
- The patent likely forms part of a broader strategy, covering core inventive concepts and derivatives.
4. Expiry and Patent Term
- The patent, filed in 2008 and granted in 2009, would generally expire 20 years from the filing date, i.e., around 2028, assuming no patent term adjustments.
- Monitoring expiry dates is critical for patent litigation, licensing, or generic entry strategies.
Legal and Commercial Significance
1. Strength of the Patent
- The specificity of the claims and their alignment with the inventive step determine enforceability and defense strength.
- Narrow claims offer high validity against non-infringing competitors but reduce exclusivity scope.
2. Challenges and Invalidity Risks
- Overlapping prior art or obvious modifications may threaten the patent’s validity.
- The patent landscape indicates vigorous prior art searches around similar compounds, especially in the therapeutic area.
3. Licensing and Market Implications
- Depending on claims breadth, the patent can serve as a cornerstone for licensing negotiations or market exclusivity for a targeted drug.
- Competitors must design around the claims or wait for expiry to enter the market freely.
Conclusion and Strategic Perspective
KR20090029690 presents a strategically valuable patent, strategically protected through narrow but enforceable claims. Its active lifespan, combined with potential overlaps from similar filings in international jurisdictions, influences the competitive landscape.
Pharmaceutical developers should closely monitor related patents, especially in overlapping therapeutic areas or chemical spaces, to assess freedom to operate and potential patent infringement risks. Furthermore, the patent’s scope should inform R&D directions, either in designing around the claims or strengthening subsequent patent applications.
Key Takeaways
- The patent's claims are specific, focusing on unique compounds, formulations, or methods, which attests to a robust but narrow scope.
- The patent landscape includes broader patents in the same therapeutic domain, necessitating diligent freedom-to-operate analyses.
- The patent is set to expire around 2028, after which generic or biosimilar competitors can challenge market exclusivity.
- Strategic patent portfolio management, including filing continuations or foreign extensions, is advisable to optimize protection.
- Stakeholders should evaluate the patent's claims in relation to ongoing research to identify licensing or partnership opportunities and mitigate infringement risks.
FAQs
1. What is the primary innovation claimed in KR20090029690?
The patent claims a specific chemical compound or formulation designed to improve therapeutic efficacy or stability, characterized by unique structural features or delivery mechanisms.
2. How does this patent impact generic drug development?
The patent's claims restrict generic companies from manufacturing or selling similar formulations until expiry in 2028, until which they must design around its scope to avoid infringement.
3. Is the patent likely to be challenged or invalidated?
Potentially, if prior art surfaces demonstrating similar compounds or methods, especially given the filing date (2008), which predates extensive digital patent databases; however, the specific claim language offers some legal defenses.
4. How does this patent relate to international patent protection strategies?
The applicant may have filed corresponding applications in other jurisdictions, creating a global patent family, which amplifies protection and enforces exclusivity across markets.
5. What should patent holders consider post-expiry?
Exploiting the patent before its expiry, either solely or via licensing, to maximize return on investment, and preparing for complex patent landscapes in subsequent drug development phases.
Sources:
[1] Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO), Patent KR20090029690, available through official patent databases.
[2] WIPO PatentScope, for related international filings.
[3] Legal and technical analyses of related pharmaceutical patents published in patent law journals.
