1. Artificial Intelligence (AI) ‘smartly’ performs a patent examination.
On March 25, 2022, the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) opened a demonstration service to KIPO examiners such that the examiners utilize the ‘patent search system applying the AI technology’ for examination work.
This service was positively carried forwarded by KIPO in cooperation with Kakao Enterprise. The prior art literature recommended by AI is used for a patent examination, thereby shortening the time for searching the prior art literature and improving the quality of examination.
According to the AI-base patent search system, even though an examiner does not enter a search keyword, AI automatically extracts key words and key sentences from a document to be examined and searches for the most similar prior art literature to be recommended.
About 5,000,000 patent documents were used as learning data to develop this system, and the unique information of patent documents, such as key sentences and Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC) codes derived by AI, were used to greatly increase the accuracy.
In the end of the last year, the AI-based patent search system was completed and a beta test thereof was conducted on some examiners.
This year, the system will be improved to implement the optimized performance by gathering opinions (feedback) from the examiners. The system will be converted as a formal service from the next year.
In addition, last year KIPO started search services applying AI technology in the areas of figurative mark search and design examination.
Through the opening of the AI-based patent search demonstration service, KIPO has spurred the conversion into the digital government, to apply the AI technology in the entire areas of intellectual property and to improve the efficiency of examination and trial services.
2. The discussion on whether AI may be considered an inventor has continued.
On March 23, 2022, KIPO published a ‘white paper on AI and intellectual property’ compiling the content which had been discussed and studied by major domestic and overseas experts on the subject, “Can AI be an inventor?”.
The white paper includes the current status of the inventions made by AI, the domestic experts’ discussions, policy studies on how to protect those inventions as patents , matters discussed in the international conferences participated by major IP countries, etc.
In US, Dr. Stephen Thaler asserted that AI (DABUS, Device for the Autonomous Bootstrapping of Unified Sentience), which had been developed by him, invented a container, etc., to be easily combined like LEGO, and he filed patent applications in 16 countries in the world from 2018, sparking a controversy.
In this regard, the patent applications filed by Professor Thaler, in which AI was described as an inventor, were rejected in most countries including South Korea, US, GB, etc. for the reason that only a natural person can be an inventor under the current patent acts.
However, unlike these countries, the Australian Federal Court made the first judgment recognizing AI as an inventor, through the flexible interpretations of the Australian Patent Act in July last year. The flexible interpretations are as follows: ① There is no explicit rule stating that AI cannot be an inventor, and ② it is possible to interpret the term ‘inventor’ under the Patent Law as inventing something like an elevator.
In August last year, KIPO set up an expert council on AI invention, which was formed of the experts in industrial, academic and legal circles to discuss from various angle whether KIPO will accept AI as an inventor and how to protect an invention made by AI.
Most of the council experts expressed the opinion that on AI’s technical level, it is still difficult to complete all inventions by itself, without human intervention.
However, some opinions provided that at the present, it would be possible for AI to invent with human help and the relevant law system should be prepared for the case where AI could invent by itself soon as the AI technology is developing.
Separately from the above, since October last year, KIPO has carried out a policy research service, to seek for various legislative plans in preparation for the situation that AI is accepted as an inventor in line with a rapid development of AI technology.
In December last year, KIPO also hosted an online international conference of AI inventor, together with the seven (7) Patent Offices (South Korea, US, China, Europe, England, Australia and Canada) in Daejeon government complex.
In the conference, it was learned that some countries have established, at the whole government level, the AI comprehensive strategies including the patent system, considering the rapidly developing AI technology’s influences on the future society and economy and scientific and technological innovation.
KIPO has a plan to continue to listen the experts’ opinions on “AI and intellectual property” such that South Korea is able to secure competitiveness in the AI area, simultaneously performing an internationally leading role.
3. KIPO listens various opinions to respond to the environmental changes in the digital era.
KIPO held a public hearing for an amendment plan to the Korean Trademark Act, to respond to the environmental changes in the digital era.
This public hearing was held to listen various opinions from the academic, legal and industrial circles regarding an ‘amendment plan to the Trademark Act relating to the use and infringement of a trademark, to respond to the digital environmental changes’.
The public hearing included the topic presentation by introducing the amendment plan to the Trademark Act and the experts’ discussion. KIPO presented the issues in the Trademark Act relating to an extended virtual world (metaverse) and the amendment plan to the Trademark Act. In this regard, Professor Byungil KIM, Hanyang University, who was in charge of the policy research service, presented a topic of ‘environmental changes in the digital era and the use and infringement of trademarks’.
The director of the Trademark and Design Examination Bureau of KIPO said that the trade order would be prepared to minimize the market chaos through the amendment to the Trademark Act to respond to the new changes, such as metaverse, non-fungible token (NFT), etc. accord to the digital transformation.
This public hearing was online live broadcasted through the KIPO Youtube. Anyone is able to submit an opinion on the amendment plan to the Trademark Act by writing real-time comments.
4. The power of the Korean AI semiconductor technology was confirmed as patents.
-Korea took 2nd place in the world in the number of US patent applications relating to the next generation new technology of AI semiconductor, ‘neuromorphic’.
On March 22, 2022, KIPO published the research results of an in-depth analysis of industrial competitiveness of ‘AI semiconductor’ by using the patent information, together with Center for Economic Catch-up.
Regarding the AI semiconductor which is an essential industry of the Digital New Deal, this research classified the worldwide patents by the technological development stages (1st~3rd generations) and conducted a in-depth patent analysis on each of them, unlike previous analysis.
The AI semiconductor technology, which started from the 1st generation using a central processing unit (CPU) and a graphics processing unit (GPU), passed through the 2nd generation using a field programmable gate array (FPGA) and an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) chip and has been evolving to the 3rd generation using a neuromorphic chip.
Recently (2016~2019), the number of worldwide patent applications relating to AI semiconductor rapidly increased by more than three times. This increaseing trend is considered as resulting from the international interest and development boom in AI after the match between AlphaGo and LEE Sedol in 2016.
By major countries, US (37%) and China (36) divided the world patent applications in the AI semiconductor area (1st~3rd generations), and South Korea took third place.
From the view of the patent application trends in US which is the largest market and focuses on the core technology, US overwhelmingly took first place in the entire areas. South Korea was intensively competitive with China, Japan and Taiwan for the second place but took second place in the area of neuromorphic which is the next generation technology, overtaking Japan and Taiwan with a big difference.
The percentages (%) of US patent applications in the neuromorphic area (2000~2021) are 18% for South Korea, 4% for Japan, 2% for Taiwan and 0% for China.
At present, South Korea is slightly behind in the AI semiconductor technology but a positive signal is shown that, together with US, South Korea will be able to get ahead focusing on the neuromorphic technology.
As major applicants of the patent applications by AI semiconductor generations, the strong in the previous semiconductor and computing areas, including Intel, IBM, Samsung Electronics, etc., took the top in all areas. Samsung and SK Hynix took second place and fifth place in the next generation neuromorphic area.
5. KIPO was requested to enhance an examination quality rather than an examination speed.
- KIPO published the results of an examination quality survey on March 17, 2022.
KIPO published the results of research on the evaluation and analysis of examination quality as people feel’, which was conducted by survey.
This evaluation resulted from surveying the applicants filing multiple applications and the agents regarding 36 items in the patent area and 10 items in the trademark and design areas.
The survey period was from June 2021 to December 2021, the managing agent was KDN Research, and the respondents were 306 applicants and 53 agents in the patent area and 304 applicants and 50 agents in the trademark and design areas.
As to the question on the ‘satisfaction with a general examination quality’, 68.8 was in the patent area, which slightly dropped compared to 69.7 in 2020; whereas, 72.9 was in the trademark and design areas, which slightly raised compared to 69.1 in 2020.
The question, ‘what do you think should be more focused on, patent examination speed or quality, if limited circumstances?’, was the question for the first time this year. 37% of the respondents selected ‘quality’, which was 11% point higher, compared to 26% selecting ‘speed’. 37% responded that both of the quality and the speed were to be equally focused on.
By the types of respondents, the percentage of big companies or foreign corporations selecting the ‘quality’ to be more important was higher by 2 or more times than those selecting ‘speed’; whereas, the percentage of individuals selecting the ‘speed’ was higher than those selecting the ‘quality’.
As to a question surveying the respondents who have filed applications in foreign countries regarding ‘which has a better examination service, KIPO and other patent offices?’, 87.6% answered that KIPO’s examination service was better, which was higher by 10.3% point compared to 77.3% in 2020.
The reasons why the respondents thought that KIPO’s examination service was better were ▲ rapid examination speed, ▲ faithful prior art search and ▲notices written to be easily understood, etc. This is considered as good evaluation resulted from KIPO’s administrative service improvements through the user-based positive administration.
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