"We discovered that the roller puff developed over 7 months was being manufactured and sold similarly by a collaborating manufacturer. It felt like our efforts were in vain."
Jo Ha-rin, the CEO of Yulseven, said this during a phone call with ChosunBiz on the 11th. Yulseven has been in a technical dispute with its former collaborating manufacturer, Seondu Puff, regarding the technology of its self-produced product, the 'roller puff,' for over two years. Yulseven holds domestic design registrations and utility model applications for the roller puff, as well as U.S. design patent applications.
Yulseven became aware in August 2023 that Seondu Puff was selling similar products. Subsequently, it requested the suspension of sales on Naver and Coupang. During this process, Seondu Puff sent a notification indicating it would seek damages. Additionally, it has initiated a patent trial to invalidate the design patent held by Yulseven.
After a year of litigation, Yulseven won in the first instance of the patent trial in November 2024. Jo noted, "Although we won the patent lawsuit, I am not completely happy." This is because they had to spend a long time entangled in the lawsuit. During this process, as Yulseven's product gained word-of-mouth, it lost sales opportunities due to insufficient inventory caused by the dispute with the collaborating manufacturer.
Currently, Yulseven is in the second instance of the patent trial with Seondu Puff. It has determined that pursuing a damages lawsuit is not worthwhile given the low effectiveness compared to the time and expense invested. ChosunBiz attempted to contact Seondu Puff multiple times to hear its position but was unable to reach them.
Disputes over technology infringements are also occurring between large corporations and startups. The pet supplies and healthcare venture company Berg & Ridge alleged in November last year that it had its technology stolen by Kyowon Properties, a real estate development subsidiary of the Kyowon Group, during discussions for business collaboration. They claimed that Kyowon Properties had taken their internal know-how before the opening of the pet hotel 'Kynok.' The Ministry of SMEs and Startups has launched an investigation into whether Kyowon Properties infringed on Berg & Ridge's technology.
In 2022, the Korean guest house platform 'Minda' filed a lawsuit against an employee of My Real Trip, alleging that he made false reservations for Korean guesthouses on the Minda platform for about three months and obtained the email addresses, phone numbers, and social media (SNS) of the Korean guesthouse hosts that could only be viewed after the reservations were confirmed. However, the court ruled that while the actions of the My Real Trip employee constituted work disruption, they could not be considered data theft.
◇Increase in technology theft victims among SMEs…"technology protection capabilities are weak"
In this way, the number of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) complaining about damage from technology theft is increasing. According to the Ministry of SMEs and Startups' '2024 Technology Protection Status Survey,' the annual number of technology infringement cases among domestic SMEs reached about 299 as of 2023. The average loss amount due to infringement of technical or managerial information is 1.82 billion won, with total losses amounting to 544.26 billion won.
This is due to the weak technology protection capabilities of SMEs. In a survey by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, the technology protection capability score for small and medium-sized enterprises was 49 points, which is only 66% of the score for large corporations (74.5 points). There is a lack of dedicated personnel, and the rate of signing non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) is low. Consequently, technology leaks frequently occur due to internal staff, former employees, or third parties.
The problem is that even when technology theft is recognized, actual response is difficult. To prove technology infringement, relevant materials are needed, but most of them are held by the offending corporations, making evidence collection challenging. Additionally, the litigation process incurs significant time and expense, making it burdensome for small and medium-sized enterprises to pursue lawsuits.
Even if they win, the impact on corporations is significant due to damages being lower than expected. According to the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, the average claim amount for plaintiffs is 800 million won, but the actual amount awarded tends to be around 150 million won.
◇Experts say "prevention is crucial…information training and regular checks are necessary"
Experts unanimously agree that enhancing the 'effectiveness of preventive measures' is key to preventing the theft of technology from small and medium-sized enterprises. Considering the capacities of SMEs, it is difficult to resolve technical disputes after technology theft occurs.
According to 자료 received by People Power Party lawmaker Seo Il-jun from the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, 233 small and medium-sized enterprises have concluded technology dispute mediation and arbitration procedures from 2015 to May of this year. However, among these, 40, or one-sixth, could not overcome the management crisis and have temporarily closed or shut down.
Park Hee-kyung, a lawyer at the Kyungcheong Foundation, said, "To prevent technology disputes among small and medium-sized enterprises, it is important to leave evidence by utilizing systems such as technology escrow."
However, he added, "Despite the availability of related support measures, there is often a lack of publicity, causing many to be unaware of them," and suggested that "if the government increases consulting for small and medium-sized enterprises and manages technology through regular checks, the effectiveness of the current system would improve."