Formality Examination
A patent application submitted to the KIPO is checked to ensure that all requirements for formality prescribed in the law are satisfied (the patent application may be accepted or turned down according to whether or not there is an incomplete matter).

Request for Examination
A request for examination should be made within 5 years from the filing date of the patent application. If no request for examination is made within the period, the patent application is deemed to have been withdrawn.

Substantive Examination
An examiner conducts a substantive examination of the invention to judge whether or not a patent can be granted for the patent application (according to the results of the examination, a decision to register a patent or a Notice of reasons for rejection can be issued).

Guidelines for Examination

Does the invention correspond to a technical idea using the law of nature?
Does the invention have industrial applicability?
Is the invention a new invention?
Does the invention have an inventive step compared to existing inventions?
Does the invention include a non-patentable matter?
Is the invention specifically described in the specification and are the claims clear?
Has the patent application been filed earlier than those filed by other persons?
If the accelerated examination system is used, the examination period can be reduced to 3 to 5 months.