According to Yonhap News,

South Korea has entered the global top 10 for the first time in the International Intellectual Property Index .

On April 24, the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) announced that Korea ranked 10th overall among the top 55 countries in the "International Intellectual Property Index" released by the Global Innovation Policy Center (GIPC) under the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

This is the first time that Korea has made it into the top 10 of the International Intellectual Property Index. In the past, Korea ranked 13th in 2019, 2020, 12th in and 2021,2022,2023, and 11th in 2024.

The International Intellectual Property Index is calculated based on 53 detailed indicators in 10 categories, including patent, trademark, trade secrets, intellectual property enforcement, system efficiency, and ratification of international treaties.

Korea performed excellently in several areas, including 2nd place for patents for two consecutive years, 4th place for trademarks, and 1st place for system efficiency for six consecutive years.

Notably, in the field of trade secret protection, Korea improved by 7 positions from 16th to 9th, which contributed to its entry into the top 10 overall ranking.

KIPO explained that this improvement was due to the strengthening of technology protection measures, such as raising the damage compensation limit for trade secret violations from three times to five times the amount of damages, following the amendment of the Unfair Competition Prevention Act in February of last year.

Looking at the global rankings, the United States is in 1st place, followed by Britain, France, Germany, Sweden, the Netherlands, Japan, Ireland, and Spain.

China, which has recently emerged as an IP powerhouse, ranked 24th.

Director General Shin Sang-gon of the Intellectual Property Protection & International Cooperation Bureau said, "A high level of intellectual property is a driving force for industrial development and can be a valuable card in trade negotiations," and added, "Through the 'Premium Patent' strategy, which KIPO is actively promoting, we will accelerate the commercialization of intellectual property and make Korea the world's top intellectual property nation."



sw21@yna.co.kr

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Source: Yonhap News (April 24, 2024)

** This article was translated from Korean.