'Record High' 557,000 Intellectual Property Applications... Turning the COVID-19 'Crisis into Opportunity'

Graph of intellectual property right applications by type from 2016 to 2020. Provided by the Korean Intellectual Property Office.

[Asia Economy (Daejeon) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] Last year, the annual number of intellectual property rights (hereinafter referred to as IP rights) applications exceeded 557,000, marking an all-time high. IP rights applications were particularly prominent in the digital economy, medical, and pharmaceutical sectors. Analysts suggest that many applicants turned the COVID-19 pandemic crisis into an opportunity.

According to the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) on the 13th, the total number of IP rights applications, including patents, trademarks, and designs, reached 557,229 last year, a 9.1% increase compared to the previous year. This is the highest growth rate since 2006 and the largest number of applications ever recorded.

In particular, in December last year, a total of 62,065 applications were filed, a 19.1% increase compared to the same month the previous year, setting a new monthly application record.

By type of right, trademark applications reached 257,933, showing a 16.4% increase from the previous year; patents (including utility model applications) totaled 231,740, up 3.3%; and design applications were 67,556, up 3.9%, respectively.

Among these, trademark applications recorded the highest growth rate in the past 20 years. Notably, trademark applications surpassed patent applications for the first time in 36 years since 1985, according to KIPO. This trend is interpreted as reflecting the widespread social recognition of brand value.

Graph of the proportion of design patent applications by applicant last year. Provided by the Korean Intellectual Property Office.

By applicant type, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), individuals, universities and public research institutes, and large corporations showed increasing numbers of applications in that order. In particular, SMEs showed a 17.8% increase in IP rights applications last year, driving the overall growth rate of IP rights applications for the year.

It is noteworthy that last year, despite the persistent spread of COVID-19, the number of IP rights applications actually increased.

KIPO explains that the increase in applications was especially significant in industries related to COVID-19 response and non-face-to-face technologies.

For example, in the patent sector last year, applications in the e-commerce field reached 10,407 (an 8.4% increase), supporting the growth of the online transaction market driven by the expansion of the digital economy. As of October last year, the domestic online transaction market size was estimated at 13 trillion KRW (according to Statistics Korea), an 18.5% increase compared to 11 trillion KRW in the same period the previous year.

Additionally, the medical sector recorded 9,983 applications (up 8.1% year-on-year), the pharmaceutical sector 4,380 (up 4.8%), and the bio sector 4,566 (up 2.7%), indicating applicants’ strong interest in medical and hygiene fields.

This trend is also reflected in the design and trademark sectors. In the design sector, applications in the home health and hygiene products category reached 3,903, showing a 125.9% increase compared to the previous year. In the trademark sector, medical devices (8,391 applications, up 42.7%) and pharmaceutical classifications (14,530 applications, up 31.3%) showed significant growth.

KIPO Commissioner Kim Yong-rae said, “The significant increase in IP rights applications last year shows the potential for us to turn the COVID-19 crisis into an opportunity in the future,” adding, “KIPO will develop and implement various support policies to help domestic companies secure global competitiveness through IP rights acquisition.”