Korea Institute of Intellectual Property: "Companies Certified for Excellent Employee Invention Achieve Twice the Sales Growth of Ordinary Firms"
by Kim Bokyung
Published 01 Dec.2025 12:09(KST)
Analysis of Data from Over 1,400 Certified Companies
"Employee Invention System Drives Sales, Employment, and Innovation"
A recent study found that companies certified as exemplary operators of the employee invention compensation system achieved sales growth rates twice as high as those of ordinary companies.
On December 1, the Korea Institute of Intellectual Property announced the publication of a report analyzing the impact of the employee invention compensation system on corporate growth and innovation. The employee invention compensation system refers to a policy in which an employer (company) provides fair compensation when it acquires an employee’s job-related invention.
For this study, the institute separately analyzed data from 1,419 companies that received the Excellent Employee Invention Certification from the Intellectual Property Office and 1,024 companies that received both employee invention consulting and the certification.
According to the report, companies with the Excellent Employee Invention Certification showed sales growth rates approximately twice as high and employment growth rates about 3.4 times higher than ordinary companies.
Additionally, these companies greatly accelerated their innovation activities, registering about ten times more patents than ordinary companies, thanks to incentives such as expedited examination and fee reductions.
The report evaluated the effects on corporate growth as a virtuous cycle, describing it as: improvement of internal employee invention regulations → establishment of an internal employee invention compensation system → incentives for certified excellent companies.
In particular, companies that received both consulting and certification from the Intellectual Property Office showed sales growth about 2.3 times higher and job creation effects 5.5 times greater than ordinary companies.
Cho Sangkyu, Associate Research Fellow at the Korea Institute of Intellectual Property, stated, "This study provides data-based evidence that the employee invention system drives corporate sales growth, job creation, and innovation activities."
He further emphasized, "For small and medium-sized enterprises, a step-by-step approach-building an innovation foundation through employee invention consulting and securing growth momentum by utilizing the Excellent Employee Invention Certification system-is highly effective."
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