AI Quality Management Patent Applications: South Korea Most Active Globally

Patents for smart quality control technology using artificial intelligence video analysis (hereinafter AI quality control) have been filed the most in Korea.

AI quality control is a technology that applies artificial intelligence and other technologies to various inspection processes in manufacturing, determining the size, pattern, characters, and shapes of objects to ensure product quality.

Trends in Patent Applications by Applicant Nationality for Smart Quality Control Technology Using Artificial Intelligence Video Analysis. Provided by the Korean Intellectual Property Office

On the 26th, the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) analyzed the trends of AI quality control technology patent applications filed from 2011 to 2020 in major countries' patent offices (IP5) including Korea, the United States, China, Japan, and Europe. The results showed that patents filed in Korea accounted for 25.4% of the total global patent applications in this field.

Worldwide patent applications in the AI quality control field increased 44 times from 6 cases in 2011 to 264 cases in 2020. This means that the number of related patent applications grew at an average annual rate of 52.3%. In particular, the patent application growth rate from 2016 to 2020 was 63.5%, indicating rising global interest in quality control using artificial intelligence.

The Korean Intellectual Property Office analyzes that this is also related to the fact that AI technology began to be actively utilized in the industry since 2016.

Regarding the nationality of applicants for AI quality control patents filed through the IP5 patent offices, Korea ranked first with 25.4%, followed by China (18%), Japan (17.5%), and the United States (17%).

The list of top applicants includes the United States' KLA (4.03%), Samsung Electronics (3.14%), Germany's Siemens (2.39%), Korea Institute of Industrial Technology (2.26%), and the Netherlands' ASML (1.76%).

Additionally, domestically, LG Electronics (1.26%, 10th), Koyoung Technology (0.88%, 15th), Wiraon People and Hyundai Motor Company (each 0.75%, 17th) also appeared among the top applicants, confirming that not only large corporations but also small and medium-sized enterprises and companies across manufacturing and solution sectors show high interest in AI quality control.

This level of interest (patent applications) has also positively influenced increasing corporate value in the AI quality control field. For example, in 2019, the domestic startup 'SuahLab' was acquired by the U.S. company Cognex for approximately 260 billion KRW.

This was possible because Cognex highly valued the intellectual property (AI quality control technology) held by SuahLab, and according to KIPO, it is the largest acquisition price among overseas mergers and acquisitions of startups.

Above all, while most global AI quality control patent applications (82.3%) are concentrated in companies, Korea shows a relatively lower corporate share (66.8%) and a higher proportion of public sector (13.4%), individuals (10.4%), and universities (9.4%) compared to other countries, adding significance to the findings.

Park Hyun-soo, head of the Smart Manufacturing Examination Team at KIPO, said, “The Patent Office will spare no support for startups developing core technologies in the AI quality control field to secure intellectual property.” He added, “It can also be meaningful if small and medium-sized enterprises utilize excellent patented technologies developed by universities and government research institutes.”