Switzerland, the United States, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands are the world’s most-innovative economies, according to WIPO’s 2022 Global Innovation Index (GII), with China on the threshold of the top 10. Other emerging economies are also showing consistently strong performance, including India and Türkiye, both of which enter the top 40 for the first time. The report shows that research and development (R&D) and other investments that drive worldwide innovative activity continued to boom in 2021 despite the COVID-19 pandemic, but challenges are emerging in translating innovation investments into impact. The GII finds that productivity growth  - normally spurred by increased innovation - has in fact stagnated. It also finds that current technological progress and adoption show signs of slowing growth despite the recent flourishing of R&D expenditure and venture capital investments. However, with more careful and attentive nurturing of innovation ecosystems, a new era of innovation-driven growth led by Digital Age and Deep Science innovation waves could take off.

On February 4, 2023, the amendments to the Korean Trademark Act that were promulgated on February 3, 2022 finally took effect. Among the most notable amendments are the introduction of partial rejections and a re-examination system, which will be available for applications filed on or after February 4, 2023. These new systems are expected to make the registration process more convenient for applicants and to enhance their chances of properly securing their rights. New Partial Rejection System Prior to the amendment, if any designated goods of an application were preliminarily rejected by the Korean Intellectual Property Office ("KIPO"), the applicant was required to overcome each and every rejection ground, or else KIPO would issue a final rejection of the entire application, even if not all of the designated goods were originally rejected. The only ways to get such non-rejected goods allowed were either to appeal to the Intellectual Property Trial and Appeal Board ("IPTAB") to limit the application, or to file a new application designating only the non-rejected goods. Under the amended Trademark Act, however, KIPO will issue a final rejection only as to the specific goods that have been rejected, such that the remaining goods can simply be registered by the applicant without need for further proceedings. Establishment of a Re-Examination System Under the newly established re-examination system, where KIPO issues a final rejection, if the rejection grounds can be overcome simply by amending the designated goods, the applicant is now permitted to submit such an amendment together with a request for re-examination to KIPO, instead of having to go through a trial proceeding at the IPTAB. A request for re-examination may be filed before the deadline to appeal the final rejection to the IPTAB (i.e., within 3 months from the date of receipt of the Notice of Final Rejection), and if the re-examination request is filed, the final rejection will be deemed revoked. A re-examination request may only be submitted once per application, and no re-examination may be requested once an IPTAB appeal has been filed. In addition, this system does not apply to applications filed under the Madrid Protocol.

ecision of the Administrative Council of 14 December 2022 amending Article 2 of the Rules relating to Fees and adjusting the amount of the reduction in the fee for the supplementary European search where the international or supplementary international search report was drawn up by one of the European International Searching Authorities (CA/D 16/22) THE ADMINISTRATIVE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN PATENT ORGANISATION, Having regard to the European Patent Convention and in particular Article 33(2)(d)thereof, On a proposal from the President of the European Patent Office, Having regard to the opinion of the Budget and Finance Committee, HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS: Article 1 Article 2, paragraphs 1 and 2, of the Rules relating to Fees shall read as follows: "(1) The fees due to be paid to the Office under Article 1, unless otherwise provided in paragraph 2, shall be as follows: EUR 1. Filing fee (Article 78, paragraph 2) (i) where the European patent application or, if required, its translation (Article 14, paragraph 2) is filed online in character-coded format, or, in the case of an international application, if within the 31-month period (Rule 159, paragraph 1) the form for entry into the European phase (EPO Form 1200) and the international application or, if required, its translation (Rule 159, paragraph 1(a)), and any amendments for processing in the European phase (Rule 159, paragraph 1(b)), are all filed online in character-coded format 105 (ii) where all documents referred to in item 1(i) are filed online, but any one of them is filed in a format other than character-coded format 135 (iii) in all other cases 285 1a. Additional fee for a European patent application comprising more than 35 pages (not counting pages forming part of a sequence listing) (Rule 38, paragraph 2) plus EUR 17 for the 36th and each subsequent page 1b. Additional fee in the case of a divisional application filed in respect of any earlier application which is itself a divisional application (Rule 38, paragraph 4) fee for a divisional application of second generation 235 fee for a divisional application of third generation 480 fee for a divisional application of fourth generation 715 fee for a divisional application of fifth or any subsequent generation 955 2. Search fee in respect of a European or supplementary European search on an application filed on or after 1 July 2005 (Article 78, paragraph 2, Rule 62, Rule 64, paragraph 1, Article 153, paragraph 7, Rule 164, paragraphs 1 and 2) 1460 a European or supplementary European search on an application filed before 1 July 2005 (Article 78, paragraph 2, Rule 64, paragraph 1, Article 153, paragraph 7) 1000 an international search (Rule 16.1 PCT, Rule 40bis PCT in conjunction with Rule 20.5bis PCT, and Rule 158, paragraph 1) 1775 a supplementary international search (Rule 45bis.3(a) PCT) 1775 3. Designation fee for one or more Contracting States (Article 79, paragraph 2) in respect of an application filed on or after 1 April 2009 660 4. Renewal fees for the European patent application (Article 86, paragraph 1), calculated in each case from the date of filing of the application for the 3rd year 530 for the 4th year 660 for the 5th year 925 for the 6th year 1180 for the 7th year 1305 for the 8th year 1440 for the 9th year 1570 for the 10th and each subsequent year 1775 5. Additional fee for belated payment of a renewal fee for the European patent application (Rule 51, paragraph 2) 50% of the belated renewal fee 6. Examination fee (Article 94, paragraph 1) in respect of an application filed before 1 July 2005 2055 an application filed on or after 1 July 2005 1840  an international application filed on or after 1 July 2005 for which no supplementary European search report is drawn up (Article 153, paragraph 7) 2055 7. Fee for grant including fee for publication of the European patent specification (Rule 71, paragraph 3), in respect of an application filed on or after 1 April 2009 (i) where on or after 1 April 2018 all amendments and corrections of the application, if any, and the translation of the claims are filed online in character-coded format 930 (ii) in all other cases where the fee for grant is paid between 1 April 2018 and [date to be set by the President of the Office] 1040 where the fee for grant is paid on or after [date to be set by the President of the Office] 1150 8. Fee for publishing a new specification of the European patent (Rule 82, paragraph 2, Rule 95, paragraph 3) 85 9. Surcharge for late performance of the acts required to maintain the European patent in amended form (Rule 82, paragraph 3, Rule 95, paragraph 3) 135 10. Opposition fee (Article 99, paragraph 1, Article 105, paragraph 2) 880 10a. Limitation or revocation fee (Article 105a, paragraph 1) request for limitation 1305 request for revocation 590 11. Fee for appeal (Article 108) for an appeal filed by a natural person or an entity referred to in Rule 6, paragraphs 4and 5 2015 by any other entity 2925 11a. Fee for petition for review (Article 112a, paragraph 4) 3270 12. Fee for further processing (Rule 135, paragraph 1) in the event of late payment of a fee 50% of the relevant fee in the event of late performance of the acts required under Rule 71, paragraph 3 290 other cases 290 13. Fee for re-establishment of rights/fee for requesting restoration/fee for reinstatement of rights (Rule 136, paragraph 1, Rule 26bis.3(d) PCT, Rule 49ter.2(d) PCT, Rule 49.6(d)(i) PCT) 720 14. Conversion fee (Article 135, paragraph 3, Article 140) 85 14a. Fee for late furnishing of a sequence listing (Rule 30, paragraph 3) 255 15. Claims fee (Rule 45, paragraph 1, Rule 71, paragraph 4, Rule 162, paragraph 1) in respect of an application filed on or after 1 April 2009 for the 16th and each subsequent claim up to the limit of 50 265 for the 51st and each subsequent claim 660 16. Fee for the awarding of costs (Rule 88, paragraph 3) 85 17. Fee for the conservation of evidence (Rule 123, paragraph 3) 85 18. Transmittal fee for an international application (Rule 157, paragraph 4)  where the PCT request (PCT/RO/101) and the international application are filed with the Office as receiving Office online in character-coded format 0  in all other cases 145 19. Fee for the preliminary examination of an international application (Rule 58 PCT and Rule 158, paragraph 2) 1840 20. Fee for a technical opinion (Article 25) 4385 21. Protest fee (Rule 158, paragraph 3, Rule 40.2(e) PCT, Rule 68.3(e) PCT) 980 22. Review fee (Rule 45bis.6(c) PCT) 980 (2) For European patent applications filed before 1 April 2009 and international applications which entered the regional phase before that date, the amount of the fees specified in Article 2, item 3, item 3a, item 7 and item 15 of the Rules relating to Fees as in force until 31 March 2009 shall be as follows: 3. Designation fee for each contracting state designated (Article 79, paragraph 2), designation fees being deemed paid for all contracting states upon payment of seven times the amount of this fee 115 3a. Joint designation fee for the Swiss Confederation and the Principality of Liechtenstein 115 7. Fee for grant including fee for printing the European patent specification (Rule 71, paragraph 3), where the application documents to be printed comprise: 7.1 not more than 35 pages and (i) on or after 1 April 2018 all amendments and corrections of the application, if any, and the translation of the claims are filed online in character-coded format 930 (ii) in all other cases where the fee for grant is paid between 1 April 2018 and [date to be set by the President of the Office] 1040 where the fee for grant is paid on or after [date to be set by the President of the Office] 1150 7.2 more than 35 pages The relevant amount of item 7.1 plus EUR 17 for the 36th and each subsequent page 15. Claims fee for the sixteenth and each subsequent claim (Rule 45, paragraph 1, Rule 71, paragraph 4, Rule 162, paragraph 1) 265" Article 2 1. The fee for a supplementary European search on an international application for which the international search report or a supplementary international search report was drawn up by the Austrian Patent Office, or, in accordance with the Protocol on Centralisation, by the Finnish Patent and Registration Office, the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office, the Swedish Intellectual Property Office, the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office, the Nordic Patent Institute or the Visegrad Patent Institute shall be reduced by EUR 1 245. 2. If a reduction is granted as provided in the first paragraph, the maximum amount of the reduction in the fee for a supplementary European search shall be equal to the reduction granted on the basis of a single international search report or supplementary international search report drawn up by one of the authorities mentioned in the first paragraph. Article 3 This decision shall enter into force on 1 April 2023. Article 4 1. Without prejudice to paragraph 2, the new amounts of the fees specified in Article 1 of this decision shall apply to payments made on or after 1 April 2023. 2. The new amount of the transmittal fee for an international application shall apply to applications filed on or after 1 April 2023. 3. If within six months of 1 April 2023 a fee is paid in due time but only in the amount due before 1 April 2023, that fee shall be deemed to have been validly paid if the deficit is made good within two months of an invitation to that effect from the European Patent Office. 4. Article 2 of this decision shall apply to international applications filed up to and including 31 March 2024 for which the international search report or supplementary international search report was drawn up by the Austrian Patent Office, the Finnish Patent and Registration Office, the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office, the Swedish Intellectual Property Office, the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office, the Nordic Patent Institute or the Visegrad Patent Institute and for which the fee for the supplementary European search is paid on or after 1 April 2023. Article 5 Article 3 of decision CA/D 13/21 of 15 December 2021 (OJ EPO 2022, A2) shall be rescinded with effect from 1 April 2023 and replaced by Article 2 of this decision.