Executive Summary
Statistical trends in intellectual property up to February 2022
According to the statistical trends in intellectual property announced by the KIPO in March 2021, the cumulative number of applications for patents, utility models, designs, and trademarks was 84,692, which was a 3.5% decrease compared to the same period of the previous year, and particularly in February, a 4.9% decrease was seen compared to the same period of the previous year, while the number of registrations was 52,865, which was a 0.3% decrease compared to the same period of the previous year, and particularly in February, the number of registrations was 26,133, which was a 2.4% increase compared to the same period of the previous year. Meanwhile, the number of requests for examination was 31,437, which was a 7.3% decrease compared to the same period of the previous year, and the number of appeals was 1,113, which was a 6.9% increase compared to the same period of the previous year.
While the numbers of applications for utility models, designs and trademarks decreased by 20.2%, 17.8%, and 2.7%, respectively, the number of applications for patents was 33,375, which was a 0.3% increase.
Current trends in artificial intelligence and semiconductor technology
Artificial intelligence semiconductor technology is divided into first-generation semiconductors using a central processing unit (CPU) that sequentially processes complex calculations, and a graphics processing unit (GPU) that processes simple calculations in parallel, second-generation semiconductors employing a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) that is a programmable integrated circuit semiconductor, and an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) that is an integrated circuit designed for a specific purpose and is mainly called an application-specific integrated circuit, and third-generation semiconductors employing a neuromorphic circuit imitating neuron and synapse shapes.
According to the patent trends in the US, the world’s largest market, Korea is competing with China, Japan, and Taiwan for second place in the first and second generations of artificial intelligence semiconductors, while in the third-generation neuromorphic field, its number of applications accounts for 18%. This confirms that Korea is far ahead of Japan, Taiwan and China, which accounted for 4%, 2%, and 0%, respectively.
Examining the major patent applicants in the artificial intelligence semiconductor field, in which the number of applications increased by nearly 400% in three years from 1,371 to 6,758 between 2016 and 2019, existing major competitors such as Intel, IBM, NVIDIA and Samsung Electronics occupy the top positions in all fields.
Examining the number of patent applications counted from 2000 to 2021, it was found that in the first-generation AI semiconductor field, Intel filed 824 applications, IBM filed 244 applications, Nvidia filed 208 applications, Samsung Electronics filed 153 applications, and Microsoft filed 126 applications, in the second-generation field, Intel filed 178 applications, Samsung Electronics filed 116 applications, IBM filed 88 applications, Microsoft filed 85 applications, and Micron filed 50 applications, and in the third generation field, IBM filed 222 applications, Samsung Electronics filed 79 applications, Intel filed 46 applications, HRL filed 40 applications, and SK Hynix filed 38 applications.
The Korean Intellectual Property Office cited the opinion of Professor Oh, Cheol at the Economic Tracking Institute, that the relatively rapid progress of the 3rd-generation neuromorphic semiconductors of the Korean companies, in which the Korean companies are likely to lead technological innovation, have attracted attention, who stated that he would “actively establish a patent examination policy that can contribute to the improvement of the competitiveness of the artificial intelligence semiconductor industry” based on the results of the analysis.
Changes in intellectual property system and support policies in 2022
Amendment to the Unfair Competition Prevention and Trade Secret Act
Act of unlawfully acquiring and using protected data (will take effect on June 8, 2022)
Acts of acquiring or using data accumulated and managed for transaction purposes in an unlawful manner were added as a type of an act of unfair competition (Article 2(i)(k) of the Unfair Competition Prevention and Trade Secret Protection Act)
Remedies for unlawful use of data: Civil prohibition request, claim for damages, administrative investigation, and corrective recommendation can be claimed.
Criminal punishment may be imposed for an act of intentionally incapacitating technical protection measures without lawful authority.
Unauthorized use of portraits and names of celebrities (will take effect on April 20, 2022)
Remedy measures in a case in which unauthorized use of a celebrity’s portrait or name causes economic interests to be infringed upon: Civil prohibition request, claim for damages, administrative investigation, and corrective recommendation can be claimed.
Administrative improvement in examination procedures, etc.
Patent application separation system (will take effect on April 20, 2022) – Article 52bis of the Patent Act
Only claims that were not rejected at the time of a decision of rejection can be separately selected, and an application therefor can be filed within a period in which an appeal can be filed with the Patent Court of Korea after receiving a decision to dismiss the appeal to the decision of rejection.
Extension of term for filing an appeal in patent, trademark and design applications (will take effect on April 20, 2022).
The term for filing an appeal to a decision of rejection of a patent, trademark or design application rendered by an Examiner is extended from 30 days to 3 months (Article 132sedecies of the Patent Act, Article 116 of the Trademark Act, and Article 120 of the Design Protection Act).
The term for filing an appeal to a decision to dismiss an amendment to a trademark or design application is extended from 30 days to 3 months (Article 115 of the Trademark Act, and Article 119 of the Design Protection Act).