1. Trend of intellectual property (IP) rights for the 4/4 quarter in 2012
- The number of applications for IP rights increased by 0.6%, compared with the same period in 2011
The number of the applications for IP rights filed during the last quarter of 2012 was 109,647, increasing by 0.6% compared with the same period of the previous year. The number of the IP rights registered was 62,742, decreasing by 3.7% compared with the same period of the previous year.
Classified by the types of IP rights, the number of patent applications was 57,821 with an increase of 3.0%, the number of utility model applications was 3,625 with an increase of 18.7%, the number of design applications was 16,226 with an increase of 3.0% and the number of trademark applications was 31,975 with a decrease of 6.0%.
Classified by the applicants, the number of the applications filed by domestic applicants increased by 0.4% and the number of the applications filed by foreign applicants increased by 2.1%. The number of the patent applications filed by domestic applicants increased by 3.7% and the number of the patent applications filed by foreign applicants increased by 0.1%.
The number of the trials as filed was 3,405, decreasing by 24.7% compared with the same period of the previous year, and the number of the trials settled was 3,199, increasing by 15.9% compared with the same period of the previous year.
2. A ‘smart e-book’ containing patents and technologies in the shipbuilding and marine engineering fields has been published
- Diverse videos and easy and convenient functions using 3D have showed an advantage
The Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) published a ‘handbook of patents and technologies in the marine engineering plant and shipbuilding fields’ (hereinafter, referred to as the ‘handbook’) in the form of an e-book, combining patents and technologies to popularize the IP in the Korean shipbuilding and marine engineering fields.
The Korean shipbuilding and marine engineering industries which have kept the first rank in the world since 2000 have started making big changes in the IP field.
The number of the marine engineering plant and shipbuilding-related patent applications did not reach 500 per year even in the beginning of 2000. However, starting in the middle of 2000, it rapidly increased by the large shipbuilding companies which acknowledged the importance of IP, totaling about 2,800 in 2012.
The handbook largely consists of two parts. Part 1 contains the complete patent procedure (invention, patent application, examination and trial) until an invention is protected as a patent right. Part 2 contains the latest technologies and the relevant videos, etc. in the marine engineering plant and shipbuilding fields which have been emerged.
The handbook is available for a free download in the iBooks Store, using an iPad (Apple) or it can be downloaded as a PDF document in the ‘information field/publication/other materials’ of the KIPO website, www.kipo.go.kr.
3. KIPO supplies a system to protect the core technology of a company
KIPO held a presentation to provide a ‘business secret standard management system’ in Gangnam Spaceplus in Seoul. The system has been developed to protect the core technology of a company
The business secret standard management system has been developed to provide a small/medium company with a business secret management system at minimum cost and human power. The system includes the functions of handling and management of business secrets by grades, management of data log and personnel management of a person in charge of business secrets. The business secret protection center of the Korea Institute of Patent Information completed its review demonstration last year. KIPO started fully providing it this year.
Meantime, a small/medium company’s business secret management system which was weak in comparison with a big company’s was indicated as an issue.
According to the National Police Agency, small/medium companies among the companies of technology leak reached about 90%. Furthermore, even when core technologies were leaked, there were many cases where small/medium companies lose lawsuits for the reason that their efforts to manage the technologies as secrets were not sufficient.
The standard management system as provided at this time is expected to increase the level of protecting a company’s business secret at an inexpensive cost, by including the functions required for the designation/management of a business secret, the dealing of a retired employee and the action to take if a dispute arises.
4. A clear image of an ultra HD (high definition) TV is solved by transmission and compression technologies
- The number of patent applications related to the ultra HD TV transmission and compression technologies has sharply increased
At present, an ultra HD TV is 4 (four) times higher than a full HD TV in resolution and therefore, it is possible to realize a clear image of an ultra HD TV in a large screen, such as 60”, 80”, 100”, etc. With a 3D TV, this ultra HD TV is in the spotlight as an alternative technology of a future TV market. The content transmission and compression technologies to reproduce a clear image have newly emerged.
According to KIPO, the number of the patent applications related to the technologies of transmitting and compressing the ultra HD reached about 129 for the last 6 (six) years and has steadily increased.
Since the resolution of an ultra HD TV is 7680x4320 or 3840x2160, which is far higher than the resolution of a full HD TV, 1920x1080, it can be installed for a TV of a living room, a screen or the whole surface of a wall. However, as the resolution becomes higher, how to compress and to transmit the increased capacity has become an obstacle.
A year-on-year trend of the patent applications related to the ultra HD TV content transmission and compression technologies to solve the aforementioned obstacle is as follows: The number of the patent applications has steadily increased since 2007. Classified by detailed technological fields, the number of patent applications related to the video compression technology was 72 (56%), the number of patent applications related to the broadcasting transmission technology was 24 (19%) and the number of patent applications related to the application technology field was 33 (25%).
Classified by applicants, Korean applicants filed 109 patent applications (84%) and Japanese applicants filed 20 patent applications (16%), showing that domestic applicants overwhelmingly filed many applications.
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