(1) The Commissioner of the Korean Intellectual Property Office shall publish a patent application in the Patent Gazette to lay it open, as prescribed by Ordinance of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, after the lapse of one year and six months from the date specified in any of the following, or upon receipt of a request from the patent applicant even before the lapse of such period:
1. A patent application claiming the priority of an earlier application under Article 54 (1): The filing date of the earlier application related to priority;
2. A patent application claiming the priority of an earlier application under Article 55 (1): The filing date of the earlier application;
3. A patent application containing at least two priority claims under Article 54 (1) or 55 (1): The earliest date among the filing dates of the applications on which the priority claims are based;
4. A patent application that does not fall under any of subparagraphs 1 through 3: The filing date of the patent application.
(2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), no patent application shall be laid open in any of the following cases:
1. If the applicant fails to declare the scope of claims in the specification;
2. If the applicant fails to submit a Korean translation under Article 42-3 (2) (limited to patent applications in a foreign language);
3. If the patent has been registered and published under Article 87 (3).
(3) If the invention claimed in a patent application shall be kept confidential under Article 41 (1), the patent application shall not be laid open until the invention is released from confidentiality, but shall be laid open under paragraph (1) without delay when the invention is released from confidentiality: Provided, That no patent application shall be laid open, if the grant of the patent claimed in the patent application has been registered.
(4) Matters that shall be published in the Patent Gazette regarding the laying-open of applications under paragraph (1), including the name and domicile of an applicant and the application number, shall be prescribed by Presidential Decree.[This Article Wholly Amended on Jun. 11, 2014]