"Survey on the Status of Trade Secret Protection" Designated as a National Approved Statistic

The Intellectual Property Office announced on January 19 that the "Survey on the Status of Trade Secret Protection" has been designated as a National Approved Statistic by the National Data Office. This designation is significant as it enhances the credibility and policy applicability of surveys in the field of intellectual property protection.

Provided by the Intellectual Property Office

This is the third time that the Intellectual Property Office has received the designation of National Approved Statistic for its surveys. Previously, the office's "Intellectual Property Rights Statistics" in 1976 and the "Intellectual Property Activity Survey" in 2006 were also designated as National Approved Statistics.

Since 2016, the office has conducted the Survey on the Status of Trade Secret Protection based on the "Unfair Competition Prevention and Trade Secret Protection Act," using the results as foundational data for formulating intellectual property protection policies.

To ensure the external reliability and objectivity of the survey results, the office has continuously pursued the designation of the Survey on the Status of Trade Secret Protection as a National Approved Statistic. Last year, through the "2025 Policy Support Project Based on Statistics" led by the National Data Office, the office improved the construction of the population, sample design, and survey methods, thereby establishing a foundation to ensure the accuracy and consistency of the survey results.

Based on these improvements, the office plans to annually survey and publish the status of trade secret protection management and protection, policy awareness and demand, as well as incidents and responses to leaks among companies, universities, and public research institutions.

Shin Sang-gon, Director General of the Intellectual Property Protection and Cooperation Bureau at the Intellectual Property Office, stated, "With this designation as a National Approved Statistic, the credibility of the Survey on the Status of Trade Secret Protection will be further enhanced, and public awareness of trade secret protection will spread more widely. The office will actively utilize the survey results going forward to implement trade secret protection policies that the public can truly experience."