['Patent Judgment Emergency' K-Semiconductor]②Foreign Companies Focus on Registering Patents in Korea...Preemptive Moves for Dispute Preparedness

Applied Materials 4,389 Applications
Higher Proportion Than US and Europe
More Than Tokyo Electron in Japan
Need to Strengthen Measures Against 'Patent Minefield'

It has been confirmed that the 'patent registration'?which forms the basis for patent disputes frequently filed by major overseas semiconductor equipment companies?is often concentrated more in South Korea than abroad. This is interpreted as a strategic move to actively respond to overseas patent disputes.

As of the 11th, according to patent search results, the ratio of Korean patents compared to domestic patents for Applied Materials (USA), Lam Research (USA), and Tokyo Electron (Japan), known as the world’s top five semiconductor equipment companies, is significantly higher than in other fields.

Applied Materials has registered 4,389 patents in South Korea, Lam Research 1,961 patents, and Tokyo Electron 7,878 patents. Including patents registered by other large and small overseas semiconductor equipment companies, the total number is estimated to reach around 100,000.

Amazon Technologies has registered 20,827 patents in the United States but only 208 patents in South Korea, registering about 1% of its U.S. patents in Korea. In contrast, Applied Materials and Lam Research have registered 30% and 50%, respectively, of their U.S. patents in South Korea, while Tokyo Electron has registered 57.1% of its Japanese patents in South Korea.

Industry insiders interpret the 'patent onslaught' by foreign companies as an attempt to curb the technological development of Korean semiconductor companies, including both large corporations and small and medium-sized material, parts, and equipment (SoBuJang) companies. Recently, as semiconductors have enjoyed a boom with the advent of the artificial intelligence (AI) era and related equipment has naturally been developed more diversely than before, overseas companies’ vigilance toward Korean companies has intensified. There is also a positive view that this phenomenon naturally occurred as Korean semiconductor technology has achieved significant growth.

However, voices are emerging that proactive patent responses and support systems for legal disputes should be strengthened for Korean companies, as 'patent traps' are being laid like minefields by foreign companies. A patent specialist lawyer said, "With the recent expansion of the semiconductor market, patent disputes are no longer confined to a single product but tend to occur widely across the entire value chain," adding, "It is necessary to carefully examine related laws and countermeasures and make efforts to respond in advance."

Meanwhile, Park Kyung-su, chairman of PSK, which is engaged in a patent lawsuit with Lam Research, said, "I understand that overseas companies are actively engaging in disputes to protect their technologies," and added, "We are also sufficiently prepared." A senior official from Lam Research stated, "There is also a plan for coexistence (not disputes)," and said, "If there are good ideas, we can review patents together and develop joint patents," leaving open the possibility of cooperation rather than conflict.