IP office taps patent big data to map future growth strategy

The government plans to analyze patent big data across strategically important advanced industries to assess technology development trends and competitive dynamics, and to guide national research and development strategy.

The Korea Intellectual Property Office said Sunday it is pushing ahead with the "2026 Patent Big Data-Based Industrial Innovation Support Project" to help secure technological competitiveness in future growth sectors — including AI, space and biotech — and to support national R&D strategy formulation.

This year's project will focus patent analysis on AI, space and biotech, fields where global technology competition is intensifying, with the aim of identifying technologies needed to secure future growth drivers.

▷In AI, the project will analyze patents related to AI foundation models held by members of the SAIL (Shared AI License Foundation) consortium, which includes major US AI companies. The analysis aims to identify technologies that could leave South Korea in a position of technological dependency and to proactively uncover potential threats from multiple angles. The project will also examine the technological competitiveness and key patent trends of major countries and companies across the entire physical AI technology supply chain, and identify promising technologies and R&D directions.

In the space sector, patent analysis will cover technology areas where the space industry converges with advanced fields such as robotics, AI and semiconductors. The project will also analyze strategies for developing biopharmaceuticals and food products in space environments, with the goal of identifying core technologies and R&D directions needed for the future space economy.

In biotech, the project will conduct an in-depth analysis of key patent clusters for global blockbuster drugs whose patents are set to expire and for GLP-1 obesity treatments. The findings are intended to support domestic pharmaceutical and biotech companies in developing biosimilar strategies.

The project will also carry out patent analysis to strengthen the competitiveness of regional industries. Analysis will cover autonomous manufacturing robots in Daegu, core components for software-defined vehicle (SDV)-based autonomous driving in Busan, and the renewable energy sector — including floating solar power and RE100 — in North Jeolla Province. The results will be used to support region-specific R&D strategy development and the cultivation of new industries.

Kim Il-gyu, director general of the IP policy bureau at the Korea Intellectual Property Office, said patent big data is "core information that reveals the trajectory of technology development and the future of industry." He added that the office would "actively support the formulation of national R&D policy so that South Korea can gain an edge in global technology competition through patent analysis in future growth sectors such as AI, space and biotech."

The office plans to complete the patent analysis by December, share the results with relevant agencies and make the findings publicly available through its patent big data portal.