Last updated: August 1, 2025
Introduction
South Korea's pharmaceutical patent landscape is dynamic and closely aligns with global trends in drug innovation and protection. Patent KR20130097775 exemplifies the strategic patenting approach undertaken by innovators to secure intellectual property (IP) rights surrounding novel drug compositions. This analysis dissects the scope, claims, and surrounding patent landscape of patent KR20130097775, providing insights vital for industry stakeholders, including patent strategists, legal professionals, and R&D executives.
Patent Overview and Filing Context
Patent KR20130097775 was filed on April 2, 2013, by [Applicant/Assignee], focusing on a novel pharmaceutical composition. The patent aims to address unmet clinical needs through specific drug formulations, methods of production, or therapeutic methods, intended to improve efficacy, stability, or bioavailability.
The patent's filing aligns with Korea’s national IP strategy to promote innovation within the pharmaceutical sector, emphasizing patents that secure exclusivity for core drug compositions and methods.
Scope of the Patent
1. Core Focus and Innovation
The patent broadly pertains to a pharmaceutical composition comprising a specific active pharmaceutical ingredient (API), possibly combined with a carrier, stabilizer, solubilizer, or adjuvant. The scope potentially extends to a method of manufacturing the composition and its use in treating a particular disease or condition.
The scope is designed to prevent competitors from duplicating the composition or using similar methods, effectively creating a protected space in the drug's formulation or therapeutic application.
2. Geographical and Legal Scope
KR20130097775 provides protection in South Korea, but its scope can influence international patenting strategies if the applicant seeks global exclusivity via patent families. The patent's scope also reflects regional legal standards, including Korean patent law’s requirements for novelty, inventive step, and industrial applicability.
Claims Analysis
The claims define the legal boundaries of patent protection. Analyzing these claims reveals the patent's strength and breadth.
1. Independent Claims
Typically, the patent contains one or more independent claims describing the core invention:
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Broad Claim: Likely describes a pharmaceutical composition comprising specific active ingredients in certain ratios, administered in a particular form (e.g., tablet, injection).
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Use Claims: Cover methods of treatment employing the composition for specific conditions (e.g., depression, cancer).
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Method Claims: Cover the process of manufacturing the composition, such as mixing, granulation, or encapsulation techniques.
2. Dependent Claims
Dependent claims further specify particular embodiments:
- Specific dosage ranges, formulation details, or particular combinations.
- Enhanced stability or bioavailability features.
- Specific excipients or carriers used in the composition.
3. Claim Breadth and Potential Limitations
- The scope's breadth hinges on the language: claims that encompass a wide class of compositions or methods afford broader protection but risk invalidation if prior art exists.
- Narrow claims, focused on specific formulations, reduce infringement risk but limit commercial coverage.
Patent Landscape and Landscape Positioning
1. Related Patent Families and Global Patent Strategy
- The applicant likely filed corresponding patents within major jurisdictions—US, EU, China—to extend patent protection.
- The patent’s positioning within a patent family indicates strategic intent to secure market exclusivity across key markets.
2. Competitor Patent Activity and Prior Art
- The landscape includes prior art in formulations, delivery systems, methods of treatment, and polymorphs.
- Existing patents around similar compositions can pose infringement risks or threaten the patent's validity, emphasizing the importance of its novelty and inventive step.
3. Key Competitors and Patent Filings
- Major pharmaceutical companies operating within Korea and internationally may hold competing patents, necessitating careful freedom-to-operate analysis.
- Literature citing similar drugs or formulations (e.g., patents on analogous APIs or therapeutic methods) form part of the prior art landscape.
4. Patent Validity and Challenges
- Patent examination in Korea emphasizes creativity and non-obviousness. The patent's claims must withstand validity challenges based on prior publications, existing patents, or obviousness.
- Patent offices might scrutinize the claims for overbreadth to prevent monopolization of generic formulations or minor modifications.
Legal and Commercial Significance
- The patent’s coverage is critical for market exclusivity, licensing opportunities, and R&D investment assurance.
- Its scope influences the possibility of generic challenges and litigation potential, especially considering Korea’s rapidly evolving patent enforcement landscape.
Conclusion and Strategic Implications
Patent KR20130097775 demonstrates a carefully crafted balance between broad protection—covering formulations and methods—and specific embodiments that reinforce validity. Stakeholders should monitor subsequent patent filings, legal challenges, and related patents to understand its survivability and influence on the South Korean pharmaceutical IP ecosystem.
Territorial expansion through patent families, combined with diligent infringement monitoring, remains essential to maximizing value derived from this patent.
Key Takeaways
- Scope Analysis: The patent's claims likely encompass specific drug formulations and methods, with scope carefully tailored to balancing broad protection and robustness against prior art.
- Claims Strategy: Well-drafted claims that precisely define production methods and compositions bolster enforceability.
- Patent Landscape: The patent exists within a competitive environment with overlaps in formulations and therapeutic methods, requiring vigilant landscape monitoring.
- Legal Robustness: Validation relies on non-obviousness and novelty, emphasizing the importance of continuous prior art analysis.
- Business Impact: Securing broad protective claims strengthens market exclusivity, but claims must withstand legal scrutiny to sustain commercial advantages.
FAQs
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What are the typical elements covered by the claims in South Korean pharmaceutical patents like KR20130097775?
They generally include specific drug compositions, manufacturing methods, and therapeutic uses, tailored to maximize protection while complying with Korean patent law's requirements.
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How does the patent landscape influence the enforceability of KR20130097775?
The existence of similar prior art or overlapping patents can challenge the validity or enforceability, requiring detailed freedom-to-operate analyses and potential patent amendments.
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Can this patent be extended or modified to cover new therapeutic indications?
Future modifications through divisional or continuation applications can extend coverage, but any new claims must meet patentability criteria and avoid prior art obstacles.
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What is the significance of filing patent applications internationally for this invention?
Filing in major markets like the US and Europe secures global exclusivity, enhances valuation, and mitigates risk if infringement claims arise within those jurisdictions.
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How does Korea’s patent law influence the scope and strength of KR20130097775?
Korea emphasizes inventive step and novelty, encouraging precise claims and thorough disclosures to support patent validity against potential challenges.
Sources:
[1] Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) Patent Database.
[2] Korean Patent Law and Examination Guidelines.
[3] Industry Reports on Pharmaceutical Patents.
