Government Draws Sword Against Technology Theft from SMEs

Lee Young, Minister of SMEs and Startups, is speaking at the Startup Technology Theft Prevention and Recovery Inter-Party Council held at the National Assembly on the 7th.

The government has taken decisive action to address the increasingly serious issue of technology theft affecting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The plan involves establishing an inter-ministerial cooperation system for SME technology protection and strengthening both 'prevention' and 'punishment' by increasing punitive damages for legal violations from three to five times the original amount.

On the 8th, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced the 'Measures to Strengthen Support for SME Technology Protection' at the Four Seasons Hotel in Jongno-gu, Seoul. This measure was prepared to eradicate technology theft targeting SMEs and startups, which has become a persistent social issue, and to enhance the recovery of affected companies' management. The main points include connected support throughout the entire process of technology infringement?prevention, dispute resolution, and recovery?as well as effective inter-ministerial responses.

At the prevention stage of technology infringement, one-on-one focused support will be provided regarding confidentiality agreements between companies, patent responses, and securing transaction evidence. Technology infringement alerts will also be provided through market monitoring centered on the manufacturing sector.

The severity of sanctions for legal violations will be increased to strengthen proactive prevention of technology theft. Around the second half of this year, the 'Large and Small Business Win-Win Cooperation Act' will be amended to raise punitive damages for technology theft from the current three times to five times. Additionally, a 'right to injunction' will be introduced, allowing courts to issue prohibitions or preventive measures against technology misappropriation.

During the dispute stage, a 'Pan-Ministerial Technology Protection Gateway' will be established by 2024 to provide support. This service offers a one-stop process from application form provision to submission for ministry-specific responses and support projects tailored to the dispute situations of affected SMEs. Furthermore, by 2024, agreements will be signed with 19 district courts nationwide to facilitate the swift resolution of court litigation cases.

Inter-ministerial cooperation to eradicate technology theft will also be strengthened. The Ministry of SMEs and Startups and the Korean Intellectual Property Office will jointly conduct administrative investigations and, if corrective recommendations are not followed, will request investigations from the National Police Agency. Collaboration with the National Intelligence Service will also be pursued to prevent overseas technology leakage.

At the recovery stage, new guarantee support of up to 1 billion KRW will be provided to stabilize the management of affected companies. A Technology Dispute Recovery Support Center will be established within next year to offer various support projects such as technology guarantees and transaction support.

The current dual legal framework for technology protection, divided between the Win-Win Cooperation Act and the Technology Protection Act, will be integrated. The SME Technology Protection Act will be comprehensively revised to enhance the effectiveness of technology protection support measures. The establishment of specialized mediation and arbitration institutions to improve the expertise in dispute resolution and accessibility to mediation systems will also be considered in the mid to long term.

Cho Joo-hyun, Vice Minister of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, stated, "This measure is meaningful in that it establishes more effective response measures by connecting and integrating support projects based on cooperation among related ministries, compared to previous fragmented support." He added, "Any shortcomings after the implementation of the system will be promptly improved to foster a fair technology market."

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