The government is integrating intellectual property strategies into the entire process of industrial technology, from research and development (R&D) to commercialization and addressing technology leakage and intellectual property disputes.
On September 1, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the Korean Intellectual Property Office signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) in Jongno-gu, Seoul, aimed at enhancing the competitiveness of industrial technology and intellectual property for businesses. This initiative comes amid intensifying international competition over advanced technologies such as semiconductors and artificial intelligence (AI), linking industrial and intellectual property policies to support technology development and commercialization.
According to the National Intelligence Service, there have been 105 cases of overseas leakage of industrial technology in the past five years, with estimated damages around 25 trillion won. This underscores the growing need to connect advanced technology development with patent acquisition and technology protection within a unified policy framework.
Under the agreement, the two ministries will collaborate on several fronts: linking policies and projects related to industrial technology and intellectual property, strengthening connections between industrial technology R&D and intellectual property, promoting commercialization and utilization based on industrial technology and intellectual property, enhancing economic security through intellectual property, and addressing domestic and international technology infringements and disputes, including artificial intelligence transition policies.
Initially, during the R&D phase, the ministries will support companies and research institutions in designing their intellectual property (IP) portfolios by analyzing existing patents and technology trends. This aims to reduce redundant investments in already developed or patented technologies and ensure that research outcomes lead to domestic and international patent acquisitions.
In the commercialization phase, the Ministry of Trade and the Korean Intellectual Property Office will connect their respective technology and intellectual property transaction platforms. This will facilitate easier access for companies to find and acquire technologies held by universities and public research institutions by sharing transaction information and enhancing intermediary functions.
For companies seeking to enter overseas markets, support will be provided for securing local patents and utilizing intellectual property. The rationale is that even with technology, failing to register patents in key export countries can hinder effective responses to patent offensives or technology imitation by local competitors.
Joint responses to technology leakage and intellectual property infringements and disputes will also be strengthened. The Ministry of Trade's industrial technology protection policies will be linked with the Korean Intellectual Property Office's patent and trade secret investigation and dispute response functions, supporting companies from damage prevention to leakage investigations and responses to domestic and international disputes.
Moon Shin-hak, Deputy Minister of Trade, stated, "To enhance the competitiveness of advanced industries, it is crucial to proactively develop excellent technologies and ensure that their outcomes are quickly commercialized and safely protected. We will actively support the technological innovation of companies to strengthen national competitiveness."
Kim Yong-sun, head of the Korean Intellectual Property Office, remarked, "For companies to achieve global competitiveness, they must proactively secure domestic and international intellectual property rights and strategically utilize them in the commercialization process, including funding and dispute resolution. We will strengthen policy support to help companies grow based on a robust intellectual property strategy."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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