The Korean Intellectual Property Office announced it will shorten the patent examination processing period to within 15 months. It will increase the scale of intellectual property financing to 12 trillion won so that startups and small and medium-sized enterprises can use intellectual property as a stepping stone for growth, and will also strengthen crackdowns and monitoring of counterfeit goods.
On the 21st, the Korean Intellectual Property Office announced its '2025 Major Business Promotion Plan.' This year's major business promotion plan is largely composed of three main strategies and ten key projects aimed at securing technological sovereignty in future advanced industries, promoting sustainable growth of innovative enterprises, and revitalizing entry into global markets and exports.
First, the Korean Intellectual Property Office will work on improving examination and trial services. In the examination field, priority will be given in February to the bio, artificial intelligence, advanced robotics, and carbon neutrality sectors, expanding the scope, and hiring 60 private experts as patent examiners. By optimizing personnel management and improving systems, it plans to reduce this year's patent examination processing period to 15 months and trademark examination processing period to 12 months.
In addition, the dedicated trial department, which is operated mainly by experienced judges, will be expanded to the bio, robot, and pharmaceutical fields.
The scale of intellectual property financing will be increased to 12 trillion won. In collaboration with the Financial Services Commission, a 1 billion won joint fund for deep tech will be established, and there will also be active cooperation with local governments. By increasing the contributions of recovery support organizations that serve as a safety net for intellectual property collateral loans, financial institutions will be encouraged to actively participate in such loans.
Measures to eradicate the distribution of counterfeit goods will also be introduced. Online monitoring of counterfeit goods using artificial intelligence technology will be fully implemented in March. Activities involving habitual and large-scale distribution detected through monitoring will be linked to planned investigations by specialized trademark police, and a cooperative system with major online platforms will also be established.
A valuation model will be developed to accurately assess the technological leak damages suffered by corporations due to intellectual property infringement, and the introduction of an evidence collection system to secure proof of patent infringement will also be pursued.
There will also be measures to enhance export vitality based on intellectual property. A preliminary analysis of overseas intellectual property dispute risks will be conducted for 100 initial export corporations, and new support will be provided for risk mitigation strategies. For corporations promoting overseas patent transactions in advanced technologies, verification and consulting will be provided in collaboration with private specialized institutions.
Kim Wan-ki, head of the Korean Intellectual Property Office, noted, 'We will do our utmost to support that the two assets the Korean Intellectual Property Office holds, patent big data and high technical expertise, serve as innovation drivers leading to technological competitiveness, allowing corporations to achieve sustainable growth based on advanced technology and enter overseas markets.'