First Half of the Year Intellectual Property Trade Deficit at $750 Million... Deficit Narrowed

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Eunbyeol] In the first half of this year, South Korea's intellectual property trade balance recorded a deficit of $750 million, with the deficit size shrinking compared to the same period last year.

According to the "2020 First Half Intellectual Property Trade Balance (Provisional)" announced by the Bank of Korea on the 18th, the industrial property rights trade balance showed a deficit of $1.7 billion in the first half, while copyrights recorded a surplus of $1.04 billion. Industrial property rights deficits were mainly due to patents and utility models (-$970 million) and trademarks and franchise rights (-$740 million). In the case of copyrights, surpluses were centered on research and development and software copyrights ($970 million).

By institution type, domestic large corporations and domestic small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) posted surpluses of $560 million and $1.08 billion respectively, whereas foreign-invested companies recorded deficits. Foreign-invested large corporations had a deficit of $120 million, and foreign-invested SMEs had a deficit of $2.3 billion.

By industry, both manufacturing (-$210 million) and service industries (-$550 million) recorded deficits. In manufacturing, chemical products, pharmaceuticals, and other transportation equipment showed deficits, while automobiles, trailers, and electrical and electronic products showed surpluses. In the service sector, wholesale and retail trade, and information and communication industries showed deficits.

By trading partner countries, the United States (-$1.85 billion), the United Kingdom (-$450 million), and Japan (-$220 million) recorded deficits. In contrast, China ($1.19 billion) and Vietnam ($950 million) recorded surpluses.

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