The office unveiled a plan to activate IP transactions, including AI-powered valuation in five minutes and public disclosure of actual transaction prices.
The government will disclose actual transaction prices in the intellectual property market and introduce an AI-powered system capable of calculating IP valuations in as little as five minutes.
The move is expected to unify the previously fragmented IP trading systems operated by government agencies and help stimulate IP transactions in the private sector as well.
The Korean Intellectual Property Office announced the plan, titled "Measures to Activate IP Transactions," at the 48th Cabinet meeting Tuesday.
The office said it developed the measures together with related ministries to help companies more easily and quickly secure the technology they need through IP transactions and trade intellectual property as freely as any other product.
The first item on the agenda is the construction of an integrated IP trading platform and the public disclosure of actual IP transaction prices.
The office plans to launch an "integrated IP trading platform" in the second half of next year, consolidating the online IP and technology trading systems currently operated separately by 10 government ministries. The platform is expected to allow technology buyers and sellers to access all IP transaction information in one place through a single window.
Actual IP transaction prices will also be made publicly available. The office plans to collect and analyze dispersed transaction data by technology sector and provide the information through the integrated platform. An AI-based system that can generate IP valuations within five minutes is also set to be built.
The second item covers the reorganization of the IP exchange and the expansion of dedicated personnel to strengthen transaction brokerage services.
To strengthen brokerage services, the office will expand and reorganize the IP exchange while significantly increasing the number of dedicated transaction specialists. Functions related to IP transactions currently divided among multiple agencies will be consolidated under the exchange, which will provide one-stop support for transaction brokerage, valuation, and technology transfer organizations at universities and public research institutions.
The number of IP transaction specialists — doctoral-level brokerage professionals with expertise in specific technology sectors — will be expanded to 36 next year to more effectively match technology buyers with sellers.
Regulations that have hindered market expansion will also be rationalized. Under the current system, publicly developed technologies are available to all interested parties, which has acted as a barrier to technology transactions. Through regulatory reform, the office plans to allow exclusive use of public technologies as well, thereby increasing incentives for technology trading.
In addition, a society that pays fair value and trades legitimately — rather than poaching talent or stealing technology — is a prerequisite for a healthy IP transaction market. To that end, the office will strengthen economic sanctions through administrative investigations into unfair competition and idea theft, and will continue to pursue criminal remedies by leveraging the investigative capacity of the technology police unit, which was expanded by 34 officers last June.
The third item is a full-scale push into overseas IP trading markets.
The office will actively support efforts to bring promising ideas and technologies into the global IP trading market, valued at 1,700 trillion won ($1.25 trillion). Next year, 50 promising government research and development projects will be selected to receive assistance with overseas patent applications and rights registration. In addition, 20 leading IP investment companies that can turn promising patents into revenue will be selected by year's end to ensure that strong technologies do not go to waste.
To ensure sustained implementation of the measures announced Tuesday, the office plans to establish the first-ever cross-ministry "National IP Transaction Activation Comprehensive Plan" in the first half of next year, and to put in place a robust monitoring system centered on the National Intellectual Property Committee, the national IP control tower.
"It is a national loss for ideas and technologies to remain confined to individuals' minds and laboratories," said Kim Yong-seon, commissioner of the Korean Intellectual Property Office. "We will build a virtuous national IP ecosystem in which outstanding technologies are not buried but traded in the market, turned into assets and translated into growth."
kwonhl@heraldcorp.com
