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KIPO presented an IP administration renovation plan using the advanced technology, such as AI, etc.(News Letter No. 479)

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KH

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2022-05-03

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1. KIPO presented an IP administration renovation plan using the advanced technology, such as AI, etc.

Yong Rae KIM, the Commissioner of the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO), participated in the online advanced technology and IP policy dialogue, which was held by World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), to discuss the subject of ¡®the advanced technology, such as AI, etc., and IP administration¡¯, together with the Commissioners of the Intellectual Property Offices of the countries which were invited. These countries included South Korea, Singapore, Australia, Slovakia, Chile and Morocco.

Under the situation that a renovation of the previous IP systems is required due to the appearance of the advanced technology, such as digitalization, AI, etc., KIPO was specially invited to this policy dialogue since it has responded to the advanced technology, such as AI, etc., in a preemptive and future-oriented way and leads the formation of the new international norms in the digital era.

The ¡®advanced technology and IP policy dialogue¡¯ was progressed in a way that the Commissioners of the Intellectual Property Offices of the six (6) countries as specially invited expressed their opinions on three (3) issues as follows: ¨ç influences that digitalization and advanced technology have on IP, ¨è an intellectual property office¡¯s reception and change as to the advanced technology, and ¨éan intellectual property office¡¯s support plan for young people having excellent ideas.

Commissioner Yong Rae KIM expressed that it would be necessary to respond to a case where it would be difficult to protect with the existing IP systems during the process of rapidly transforming to the digital society.

He also presented a patent administration renovation plan to meet the demands for rapid and accurate patent examinations and harmonization of the world IP systems and shared KIPO¡¯s AI utilization experience and know-how, thereby getting support from the IP experts from around the world as well as the Commissioners of the Intellectual Property Office from the other countries.



2. As the metaverse market has grown, the number of the non-fungible token (NFT) and content-related patents has increased.

- The number of patent applications for metaverse-related NFT and content has explosively increased by 5.3 times and 2.8 times, respectively, compared to the previous year.

As the contactless digital society has been in full swing after COVID-19, metaverse has drawn attention and the number of patent applications for the metaverse-related NFT and content has remarkably increased.

According to KIPO, the number of the metaverse-related patent applications increased by an annual average of 24% over the last 10 years (2012~2021) and notably, 1,828 applications were filed in 2021, showing an increase of about 2 times compared to the previous year.

The patent applications related to NFT for management, authentication and security, etc., of digital assets were filed in earnest from 2017 and the number thereof increased by an annual average of 143% over the last 5 years (2017~2021) and it explosively increased by more than 5.3 times in 2021, compared to the previous year.

The number of the patent applications related to the metaverse content, such as, entertainment, learning, shopping, fashion, health, game, etc., showed a high increase of an annual average 37% from 2017 to 2021, and it rapidly increased by more than 2.8 times in 2021, compared to 2020.

This is considered as a result that, as the K-content, such as popular music, soap-drama, game, etc. growing into a mainstream culture around the world, has expanded to metaverse content, the worries about digital assetization of those achievements have led to the filing of the patent applications.

By technical field (2012~2021), 3,221 applications were related to an operating system for building a virtual world, reaching 47% of the total of the relevant applications, 2,292 applications (33%) for content, 961 for display (14%), and 397 for NFT (6%).

The applications for the networks to support an operation system and the AI avatar technology showed a growth of 16.2%, and the applications for the display technology to enhance the immersion and sensory interaction showed a growth of 15.2%.

This means that the metaverse has evolved by a service scenario which is provided through a virtual space, that is, a business model, and a development of hardware and software to support the business model.

By applicant (2012~2021), 6,460 applications (94%) were filed by Korean applicants, which were far more than 411 (6%) filed by foreign applicants.

The number of the relevant applications filed by foreign applicants decreased from 2019; whereas, the number of the applications filed by Korean applicants increased by an annual average of 53.7%, showing that Korean companies have strategically prepared for the digital economy era through the metaverse technology preemption.

In addition, since Samsung Electronics with 262 applications, Korea Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute with 132 and LG Electronics with 66 were named in the rank of filing multi applications, the companies and research institutes which are strong in the information and communication technology are considered as being active in securing patent rights.



3. Filing a design application in China becomes simple.

-China is to enforce the international design application system according to the Hague Agreement (May 5)
-KIPO held a presentation for matters to pay attention to, etc., when filing a design application in China (April 28)

Beginning May 5, 2022, China will enforce the ¡®international design application system¡¯ (May 5) according to the ¡®Geneva Act of the Hague Agreement regarding an international registration of an industrial design¡¯ (hereinafter, referred to as ¡®Hague Agreement¡¯), KIPO said that it would be easier for a Korean applicant to secure a Chinese design right.

On April 28, KIPO held a contactless presentation on China¡¯s guidance on the matters declared in the Hague Agreement, to handle the amendment trends of the Chinese IP Law and the matters to pay attention to when filing a design application in China.

The presentation was broadcast in real time through KIPO official YouTube (www.youtube.com/kipoworld). Anyone (a company executive, applicant and an agent) that is interested in filing an international design application in China could participate in the presentation.

The Hague Agreement is a treaty that allows a design in a single application to be registered in multiple countries through WIPO.

KIPO joined the Hague Agreement in March 2014 and has enforced the Hague system from July 1, 2014. According to this Agreement, the international design application system is used when filing a design application in 76 countries, including USPTO, JPO, KIPO, EPO, among others.

Since the contracting parties of the Hague Agreement may make certain exceptions on the procedures of filing a design application or registering a design according to their own circumstances by declaration, an applicant who wants to use the ¡®international design application filing system¡¯ should get acquainted with the declaration matters of the country where a design application is to be filed.

When filing a design application in China, an explanation of a feature of a design must be described in the application, and a single application must include only designs which are approved as having unity. When filing a design relating to a 3-D article or graphic user interface (GUI), an applicant should note that drawings should be submitted to meet the requirements presented by Chinese National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) and KIPO.



4. An amendment to the Unfair Competition Prevention Act has been implemented to establish a data transaction order.

-KIPO held an online presentation relating to an amendment to the Unfair Competition Prevention Act (April 20)

These days, data have risen as an essential capital to be comparable to a financial capital. The companies having the competitiveness in securing data lead the 4th industry including AI, Internet of Things, etc., and the major countries have recognized the securing of data as the issue directly connected to economic security and arranged the relevant legal system so as to be appropriate for their own environments.

US enacted the ¡®CLOUD Act¡¯ to guarantee access to a domestic company (2018), Japan regulated the acts of illegally acquiring, using and publishing the limited offer data as unfair competition acts (2018), and China implemented a ¡®network safety law¡¯ to strengthen the domestic data protection and censorship (2017).

According to KIPO, the amended Act relating to ¡®unfair competition prevention and trade secrete protection (hereinafter, referred to as ¡®Unfair Competition Prevention Act¡¯) to regulate the acts of illegally acquiring and using data as unfair competition acts has been enforced from April 20.

As a part of the efforts for domestic data industrial development and corporate growth, the amendment to the Unfair Competition Prevention Act has been made to build the environment that companies are able to trade and distribute data with confidence.

This amended Unfair Competition Prevention Act newly establishes the acts of illegally acquiring and using data generated for trade, as a type of an unfair competition act.

According to the amended Act, compensation for prohibition of unfair competition act, etc. can be requested at a court regarding the acts of illegally acquiring and using data, and an administrative investigation can be requested in KIPO, to get a remedy, such as a public notice, etc.

Data to be protected are limited as follows: the data ¡â to be generated to be provided to a specific subject, ¡â to be electronically managed by restricting access by ID, password, ¡â to be accumulated in a significant amount to have an economical value, and ¡âto relate to information on technology and/or trade which are not managed as a secret.

As a part of an active administration to help people in understanding, KIPO held the presentation on the day when the amended Act was enforced (April 20). The presentation included a discussion on the data industry law and the industrial digital transformation law, which have a close relation to the amended Unfair Competition Prevention Act. The presentation is available to anyone at KIPO¡¯s YouTube channel (www.youtube.com/kipoworld).



5. The patent examination practice will change in the digital new industry area.

-A presentation was held for examination practice in the areas of intelligent robot/autonomous driving/3D printing

KIPO, Korea Intellectual Property Association and Korea Patent Attorneys Association jointly held an online contactless presentation on the patent examination practice in the digital new industrial field.

Cooperating with the industries, KIPO has newly prepared patent examination standards in the convergence technology area, to support new technology development in the digital new industry area which is now appearing. Last year, KIPO enacted a guide for examination practice in the AI, Internet of Things, biotechnology areas and this year it has newly prepared the guide for examination practice in the intelligent robot, autonomous driving and 3D printing area.

This presentation introduced, through specific examination cases, the patent application writing method, patent grant basis, etc., which have been newly enacted, in the intelligent robot, autonomous driving and 3D printing area.

In the intelligent robot area, since the number of applications related to a robot combined with the AI technology has increased, the application description method on the AI technology and the basis of determining an inventive step on a robot performance improvement using AI were explained.

In the autonomous driving area, introduction were given regarding the application describing method by technological development steps of autonomous driving and an advanced driver assistance system (ADAS), and the autonomous driving-related invention cases which could not be patented by violation of law, ethical choice, etc.

In the 3D printing area, the procedures of determining an inventive step by considering a difference in printing lamination methods and an easiness in combining the prior art were explained, together with the examination cases thereof.
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