Core Patents in 'Artificial Intelligence' Technology... Patent Office and Industry Join Forces

[Asia Economy (Daejeon) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] The Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) is seeking to support patent creation in core artificial intelligence technology fields in collaboration with the industry.

KIPO announced on the 13th that it held the launch ceremony of the "Artificial Intelligence Intellectual Property Council (hereinafter referred to as the Council)" at the KIPO Seoul Office.

Composed of the top 15 domestic companies with the highest number of AI patent applications, this Council will share domestic and international AI industry trend information between KIPO and the industry, and ensure that voices from the field are reflected in patent examination policies.

At the launch ceremony, stakeholders from large corporations, small and medium enterprises, startups, and research institutes in the domestic AI sector attended and held a meeting in the form of a roundtable discussion (once).

According to KIPO, from 2010 to 2018, patent applications in core AI technology fields (AI learning models, artificial neural network design, AI chips, and other AI technologies) at the IP5 patent offices of Korea, China, the United States, Japan, and Europe showed an average annual growth rate of over 40%.

In particular, during the same period, China, backed by government support, showed an average annual patent application growth rate of 58%, recording the largest increase among the five countries. It is also understood that since 2017, China’s annual application volume in this field has surpassed that of the United States.

South Korea also showed a high average annual growth rate of 54.3% in patent applications in core AI technology fields since 2015. Above all, in terms of application numbers, Korea surpassed Japan and Europe starting in 2016, and in 2018, its annual application count (2,506) ranked third in the world, following China (11,640) and the United States (6,279).

However, in the recent 10-year ranking of top applicants in core AI technology fields, the United States has companies such as IBM, Google, and Microsoft in the top 10, whereas South Korea’s top ranks are mainly occupied by academia and research institutions, showing different patterns.

Based on this, KIPO expresses the opinion that securing patent rights must precede in order not to fall behind in international AI technology competition, and especially that the domestic AI-related industry should make greater efforts to secure patent rights.

In the same context, KIPO expects the newly launched Council to continuously share AI patent trends with the industry and to contribute to fostering related industries through organic cooperation among large corporations, SMEs, and research institutions.

Cheon Se-chang, Deputy Commissioner of KIPO, said, “To respond to changes in Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies such as AI, we established the Convergence Technology Examination Bureau, including the AI Big Data Examination Division, last November. By establishing a communication channel with the industry through the Council, we plan to listen to and resolve corporate difficulties and strengthen support for AI-related patent creation.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.