특허를 받을 수 있는 권리의 적절한 이전 방법에 관한 고찰 : 대법원 2019. 10. 17. 선고 2016두58543 판결에 대한 비판적 분석을 겸하여

“Patent entitlement” is an “inventor’s right to file an application for an invention and obtain a patent thereto.” The Patent Act stipulates that a person entitled to a patent may request the transfer of a patent registered by an unentitled person. Patent entitlement can be viewed as a property right (real right) by its own merit, independent from the patent right. Since patent entitlement is a “real right,” a system is required to publicly announce any changes therein. The Patent Act stipulates that a patent applicant change report must be filed to transfer patent entitlement. All such reports are published in the Patent Gazette, and are used as references for transfers. In this way, patent applicant change reports play a critical role in public disclosure. On October 17, 2019, the Supreme Court (Decision 2016Du58543) decided that patent entitlement can be transferred even without a report, provided that a priority claim procedure was used. As a result, it is unlikely that patent applicant change reports will play the same role as before. Therefore, it is necessary to legally establish a comprehensive disclosure system—such as the one used for patent registration—for the transfer of patent entitlement.