1. The number of international patent disputes of Korean companies has rapidly increased by about 131% compared with the number last year
The number of the international patent disputes between Korean companies and foreign companies has greatly increased in the first half of this year.
According to the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) and the Korean Intellectual Property Protection Association, the number of the international patent trials between Korean companies and foreign companies in the first half of this year was 210, showing a rapid increase of 130.8% in comparison to 91 during the same period, last year.
The number of the international patent trials was 154 in 2009, 186 in 2010 and 280 in 2011 showing a fast increase but slowed down to 224 in 2012.
However, it passed the 200 mark in the first half of this year just, approaching the number of annual trials during the entire last year.
Classified by technical fields, the number of the disputes for the first half year in the information and communication field was 91 (43.3%), followed by 73 (34.8%) in the electric and electronic field. The number of the disputes in the electric and electronic field was 49 for the last year but steeply increased this year.
As the number of the disputes in the two fields being the Korean representative export industries, electric and electronic and information and communications, was 164 (78.1%) of 210, the number of the first half year international patent trials, showing each country’s intense check to the Korean IT companies.
This number is based on the international patent dispute cases handled in the domestic and foreign courts, excepting for non-trial cases among the IP dispute cases of Korean companies. If the cases brought to the customs of various countries were included, the number of the actual trails cases is estimated to be more.
2. KIPO promotes a private service company by expanding the designation of specialized agencies to grant the international patent classification
KIPO will additionally select the specialized agencies to grant the international patent classification by two agencies per technical field of mechanics, chemistry and electric •communications.
The specialized agencies to grant the international patent classification as designated are qualified to participate in a patent classification program of KIPO. Previously, the Patent Information Promotion Center has taken full charge of the patent classification program. However, as the participation of the private IP service company is expanded, it is expected to contribute to the activation of the IP service market.
According to a spokesperson of KIPO, patent classification is a requisite for prior art searches, industrial statistics reports, technical tendency searches, etc. When private IP service companies participate in the patent classification program, it is expected to make a good opportunity to strengthen IP service ability and to create jobs.
3. Samsung’s and LG’s patent applications are remarkable in the OLED field
As the competition for the organic light emitting diode (OLED) products which has been stated as a next-generation TV core technology has been intense, the technical development in the field of OLED materials which are high in efficiency and stability has been heating.
According to KIPO, a total of 3,433 applications were filed in the OLED material field for the last ten years, from 2003 to 2012.
The number of the relevant applications filed by Korean applicants was 1,917 (55.8% of the total number thereof) and the number of the relevant applications filed by foreign applicants was 1,516 (44.2%).
The Korean companies filing many applications include Samsung subsidiaries including Samsung SDI which filed 371 applications and LG subsidiaries including LG Chem which filed 348 applications.
As the foreign companies filing many applications, Idemitsu Kosan filed the most applications, 257. Following Idemitsu Kosan, Dow Advanced Display taking over Gracel, a Korean native venture, filed 190 applications.
4. Major Patent Offices’ examination progress information regarding family applications is available
According to KIPO, One Portal Dossier (OPD), an integrated search service of the examination progress information, has been provided to examiners so that they can view the examination progress information of major foreign patent offices regarding family application cases from August 12.
This OPD service provides the examination progress documents under the State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) of the People’s Republic of China. Therefore, the examinations of Chinese patent applications are expected to be efficiently conducted.
The OPD service is one of the information cooperative programs by the Patent Offices System of the five advanced countries in the IP (IP5: the Republic of Korea, the USA, Japan, Europe and China) started in 2008. This has been progressed with the motto “Cyber World Patent Office”.
KIPO completed the development of the service in December, 2012, performed the tests among the foreign Patent Offices for about three months, from April to June, 2013, and has now opened this service.
KIPO is in process of opening the OPD service to the people.
As part of that, the IP5 Patent Offices in principle agreed to the plan of opening the OPD service to the people in the Meeting of the Commissioners of the IP5 Patent Offices held in California in June of this year. At present, they are discussing about object documents and time at the working level.
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