[Invest&Law] "We Want to Work Together" Patent Attorneys' Top Choice Is 'Samsung Electronics'

Naver Ranked Second, Followed by LG Energy Solution in Third
SK Hynix Up Six Places, Hyundai Motor Company Up Four
Reasonable IP Fee Structure and Active Investment Drive Preferences
Naver Tops List as Most Preferred Employer for In-House Patent Attorneys

Patent attorneys selected Samsung Electronics as the number one company they would like to work with, while Naver was chosen as the top company where they would like to be employed as in-house patent attorneys.

The Korean Patent Attorneys Association (President Kim Dugyu) announced on April 17 the results of a “corporate preference survey among patent attorneys” conducted on 15 companies with the highest number of patent applications among the top 30 companies by market capitalization. According to the survey, Samsung Electronics (22.6%) ranked first as the company patent attorneys most want to attract as a client and work with, maintaining its top position for the second consecutive year since 2023. Naver (11.6%) ranked second, followed by LG Energy Solution (11.5%) in third place, and SK Hynix (10.6%) in fourth.

Notably, SK Hynix (up six places) and Hyundai Motor Company (up four places) saw significant jumps in their rankings compared to the previous year. In the age group analysis, Samsung Electronics ranked first across all age brackets. The second-place company varied by age group: SK Hynix for those in their 30s and younger, Naver for those in their 40s, and LG Energy Solution for those aged 50 and above.

The reasons patent attorneys preferred these companies included a reasonable intellectual property (IP) fee structure (27.6%), the company’s high awareness of and active investment in IP (26.3%), and the stability of company size and revenue (18.9%).

Naver (19.3%) was the top choice as the company patent attorneys most wanted to join as in-house counsel, narrowly edging out Samsung Electronics (18.7%), with SK Hynix (12.1%) in third place. Naver ranked first among those in their 30s and younger and those aged 50 and above, while Samsung Electronics ranked first among those in their 40s.

In addition to corporate preferences, the survey also gathered opinions on changes in Korean companies’ IP investment and management capabilities. Regarding changes in IP investment over the past two years, 33% of large companies responded that their investment had increased, which was higher than those who said it had decreased (25%). In contrast, among small and medium-sized enterprises, 41% responded that investment had decreased, compared to 28% who said it had increased, highlighting the need for policy support. Regarding IP organization and management capabilities, both large companies and small and medium-sized enterprises reported that their capabilities had increased.

Lee Jinyoung, Law Times Reporter

※This article is based on content supplied by Law Times.