Korean Patent Attorneys Association, Gyeonggi Province, and KIPO Collaborate on 'SME Technology Protection'

(From right) Hong Jang-won, President of the Korean Patent Attorneys Association, Lee Jae-myung, Governor of Gyeonggi Province, and Kim Yong-rae, Commissioner of the Korean Intellectual Property Office, are signing a multilateral business agreement on the "Technology Protection Cooperation for Small and Medium Enterprises and Startups in Gyeonggi Province" on the 19th. Photo by the Korean Patent Attorneys Association

[Asia Economy (Daejeon) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] The Korean Patent Attorneys Association is joining forces with Gyeonggi Province and the Korean Intellectual Property Office to protect the technologies of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

According to the Patent Attorneys Association on the 20th, the day before, Hong Jang-won, president of the association, met with Lee Jae-myung, governor of Gyeonggi Province, and Kim Yong-rae, commissioner of the Korean Intellectual Property Office, to sign a multilateral memorandum of understanding to cooperate in protecting the technologies of SMEs and startups operating in Gyeonggi Province.

The memorandum focuses on enabling SMEs and startups, which are relatively vulnerable in the field of intellectual property, to protect their technologies through consultations with professional patent attorneys.

Earlier, Gyeonggi Province held a public contest to select a nonprofit organization to undertake the 'Gyeonggi Province Technology Protection Desk' public project, and the Patent Attorneys Association was finally selected. Accordingly, the association will be entrusted with operating the Technology Protection Desk project to protect the intellectual property of SMEs and startups in the Gyeonggi Province area until December next year.

At this time, consultation fees and other costs will be covered by Gyeonggi Province's own funds, so companies do not have to pay any separate fees. In addition, the Patent Attorneys Association will form a pool of patent attorneys composed of its members to support the creation, utilization, and protection of core technologies of local SMEs as intellectual property.

If there are additional requests from companies during consultations, such as support for trials or litigation, further assistance will be provided by linking with follow-up support projects of Gyeonggi Technopark, including assigning dedicated patent attorneys. Through this, the Patent Attorneys Association expects that about 100 SMEs and startups will benefit by next year.

Hong Jang-won, president of the Patent Attorneys Association, said, "We hope that this agreement will allow SMEs and startups to receive both social interest and practical support for intellectual property protection," and added, "The Patent Attorneys Association plans to expand intellectual property support activities for SMEs and startups in cooperation with local governments and government agencies nationwide, including Gyeonggi Province."