LG CNS and Others Designated as the First Private 'Trade Secret Original Certification Institutions'

The trade secret original certification service, previously managed exclusively by the Korea Intellectual Property Protection Agency, will be expanded to the private sector starting this year.

On the 20th, the Korean Intellectual Property Office announced that it has newly designated three private organizations?Onnuri International Trade Secret Protection Center, LG CNS, and Redwit?as trade secret original certification institutions.

Cases of Using Certificate of Originality Service. Provided by the Korean Intellectual Property Office

The original certification service verifies whether an electronic file containing trade secrets is the original. Since the revised Unfair Competition Prevention Act, which includes the original certification system, was enacted in 2014, only public institutions (Korea Intellectual Property Protection Agency) had been designated as original certification institutions and provided related services.

However, with the designation of three private institutions this year for the first time, trade secret holders can now choose their preferred institution among the Korea Intellectual Property Protection Agency and the three private institutions to receive related services.

Trade secret holders using the original certification service can register the electronic fingerprint extracted from the original electronic file, the electronic signature of the original registration applicant, and the timestamp at the time of original registration with the original certification institution, thereby proving the possession of trade secrets and the timing of possession without the risk of original data leakage.

Companies, universities, and public research institutions using this service can prove the confidentiality management requirement of trade secrets, and individuals can prove their rights as idea owners when submitting entries to contests.

The number of uses of the original certification service surpassed 200,000 cumulatively for the first time in 2023. By the end of last year, it had increased to 215,000 cumulative cases.

Shin Sang-gon, Director of the Industrial Property Protection Cooperation Bureau at the Korean Intellectual Property Office, said, “This is the first year since the system’s introduction that private institutions have been designated as trade secret original certification institutions. The Korean Intellectual Property Office will strengthen inspections and management of security levels and personnel of the original certification institutions to build an environment where trade secrets of domestic companies, universities, and public research institutes are fully protected.”

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