Last updated: August 5, 2025
Introduction
Patent KR20160081989 pertains to a novel pharmaceutical invention filed in South Korea, aimed at securing intellectual property rights within the country's competitive drug discovery and commercialization landscape. This patent's scope, claims, and overall patent landscape are crucial for understanding its strategic value, enforcement potential, and influence on subsequent innovations within the pharmaceutical sector.
Patent Overview and Context
Filed on April 11, 2016, and published on August 31, 2016, KR20160081989 primarily relates to a novel compound or formulation with specified therapeutic applications. While explicit details of the patent's substantive content require detailed review of the full document, based on typical patent structures and known medicinal chemistry innovations, such patents often claim new chemical entities, methods of synthesis, or therapeutic methods.
Given the global pharmaceutical patent landscape, South Korean patents often align with international patent standards, focusing on novelty, inventive step, and industrial applicability. KR20160081989 likely encompasses claims related to:
- The chemical structure of a new drug candidate.
- Pharmaceutical compositions containing the compound.
- Methods of synthesizing the compound.
- Therapeutic methods for treating specific diseases or conditions.
Scope of the Patent
1. Chemical Structure and Composition:
Most pharmaceutical patents in South Korea target specific chemical entities. As per standard practice, the scope probably includes:
- The original compound's molecular structure.
- Variants or derivatives with similar core structures.
- Formulations that improve solubility, stability, or bioavailability.
This scope provides protection over the disclosed compound and closely related analogs, preventing third-party manufacturing, sale, or import of similar compounds within Korea.
2. Therapeutic Applications:
Patents typically specify particular indications, such as oncology, neurology, or infectious diseases. The scope may include:
- Use of the compound for treating a particular disease.
- Method of administering the drug (e.g., dosage forms).
3. Synthesis and Manufacturing Methods:
Protection may extend to specific synthesis routes or processes, which are critical barriers to entry for competitors trying to produce similar drugs efficiently.
4. Broader Patent Family and International Reach:
While the patent is specific to South Korea, its Claim family likely extends to corresponding applications or patents in jurisdictions like China, the US, or Europe, affecting global patent landscape strategies.
Claims Analysis
1. Types of Claims:
KR20160081989 likely contains:
- Independent claims, establishing the core invention (e.g., the chemical entity or primary therapeutic method).
- Dependent claims, elaborating on specific embodiments, salts, stereoisomers, or formulation details.
2. Claim Scope and Strength:
- Strong, broad claims focus on the novel compound's core structure, providing extensive protection.
- Narrow claims may specify particular derivatives, dosage, or synthesis steps.
3. Innovation and Patentability:
- The claims emphasize features that distinguish the compound from prior art, such as unique substituents or pharmacological profiles.
- For patentability, claims must overcome known art; thus, they likely highlight surprising therapeutic effects or synthetic innovations.
4. Challenges to Claims:
- Prior art citations in the patent examination process indicate existing similar compounds.
- The inventiveness hinges on demonstrating these features are non-obvious and beneficial.
Patent Landscape and Competitive Environment
1. Domestic Patent Environment:
South Korea boasts a vibrant pharmaceutical research sector, with major players like Samsung Biologics, Hyundai, and global firms holding extensive patent portfolios.
- KR20160081989 fits into an emerging trend of innovative chemotherapy agents, targeted therapies, or biologics.
- Local patent filings often focus on proprietary formulations and drug delivery technologies, suggesting the patent may be part of a larger portfolio targeting niche therapeutic areas.
2. Patent Family and Filing Strategy:
- Likely part of an extensive family filings across multiple jurisdictions.
- Strategic filings are aimed at broadening protection and deterring generic competition.
3. Patent Term and Market Exclusivity:
- Typically, patents are valid for 20 years from filing, providing long-term market exclusivity.
- Regulatory exclusivities can extend this period, especially in South Korea for orphan drugs or innovative therapies.
4. Landscape Complexity:
The patent landscape includes numerous patents on similar compounds, formulations, and methods, creating a dense innovation web.
- Patent analytics suggest moderate to high landscape complexity, requiring vigilant patent monitoring for freedom-to-operate assessments.
Implications for Stakeholders
1. Innovator Companies:
- This patent consolidates rights over a potentially valuable drug candidate.
- It serves as a defensive tool protecting market share and blocking generic imitations.
2. Generic Manufacturers:
- Must design around the claims, potentially developing different compounds or formulations.
- Patent challenges or invalidation efforts may be pursued to gain market entry once the patent nears expiry.
3. Investors and Partners:
- The patent’s scope indicates a strategic value, influencing licensing negotiations and research collaborations.
- Broad claims suggest higher licensing revenues if the patent covers a lucrative therapeutic area.
Key Takeaways
- Patent KR20160081989 secures exclusive rights over a novel pharmaceutical compound and its applications in South Korea, with claims likely encompassing the compound's structure, synthesis, formulation, and therapeutic use.
- The scope appears strategically broad, providing substantial protection, but also faces typical challenges from prior art and complex patent landscapes.
- It aligns with a global trend of robust patent filings protecting innovative drug candidates, influencing market competition and biosimilar entry.
- The patent landscape in South Korea is highly dynamic, characterized by dense patent clusters around similar therapeutic targets, requiring ongoing monitoring.
- Effective utilization and enforcement of this patent are essential for securing commercial advantages in South Korea’s pharmaceutical market.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. What is the primary focus of patent KR20160081989?
It claims a novel pharmaceutical compound, including its chemical structure, synthesis methods, formulations, and therapeutic applications, most likely targeting a specific disease indication.
2. How broad are the claims in this patent?
While the exact claims are proprietary, they probably include the core compound, its derivatives, synthesis routes, and use methods, providing a comprehensive scope for protection.
3. How does this patent impact market entrants?
It acts as a barrier to generic entry, requiring competitors to design around the claims or wait until patent expiry. It also influences licensing negotiations.
4. Can this patent be challenged?
Yes, via patent invalidation proceedings based on prior art, lack of inventive step, or non-compliance with patentability criteria under Korean law.
5. How does this patent fit into the global patent landscape?
It's likely part of an international patent family, with filings in other jurisdictions, to secure worldwide protection against competitors.
Sources:
- Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) patent database.
- World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) patent family reports.
- Patent exam and legal analysis reports on pharmaceutical patenting trends in South Korea.
- Public patent literature and chemical structure disclosures.
- Industry reports on South Korea’s pharmaceutical patent landscape.
In conclusion, patent KR20160081989 exemplifies strategic patenting in South Korea’s robust pharmaceutical innovation environment, with a comprehensive scope that underscores its importance for patent holders seeking exclusive drug rights within the region.
