KIPO and Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy Jointly Host 'Intellectual Property and Economic Security' Forum

On the 17th, the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) announced that it jointly held the '3rd Intellectual Property and Economic Security Forum' with the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) in Seoul.

This forum marked the conclusion of the series of Intellectual Property and Economic Security forums that have been ongoing since January. Previously, KIPO and MOTIE discussed intellectual property rights and trade strategies in the 1st forum, and intellectual property and overall economic security in the 2nd forum.

The final forum was attended by over 20 participants including officials from KIPO, MOTIE, academia, law firms, and related organizations. The session was dedicated to synthesizing the discussions so far and exploring ways to strengthen economic security by utilizing the intellectual property protection system.

At the event, attendees conducted expert presentations and open discussions on topics such as ▲ the Industrial Technology Protection Act ▲ intellectual property ▲ patent big data ▲ the secret patent system, focusing on ways to enhance technology protection.

In particular, participants reached a consensus on the urgent need to strengthen the national technology protection system, considering that the number of industrial technology leak cases has reached 100 over the past five years, and the estimated economic damage amounts to 23 trillion won (according to companies' own estimates), highlighting the serious threat of technology leakage.

They also expected that combining MOTIE’s accumulated experience in legal and institutional operations in areas such as designation and management of national core technologies and export control of advanced technologies with KIPO’s information and analysis capabilities would dramatically improve the effectiveness of intellectual property protection.

Kim Wanki, Commissioner of KIPO, stated, "Based on the utilization of patent big data and robust intellectual property protection policies, we will establish a close cooperation system with MOTIE in key areas such as designation of national core technologies and management of strategic materials."