KIPO: Talking ’bout a revolution

The World Economic Forum defines it as a “fusion of technologies that is blurring the lines between the physical, digital, and biological spheres”. It says the possibilities of billions of people connected by mobile devices, with unprecedented processing power, storage capacity, and access to knowledge, are “unlimited”.

This is the ‘Fourth Industrial Revolution’ (4IR), the fourth major industrial era since the Industrial Revolution of the 18th century.

This new innovative era has clear implications for IP, and to keep pace with the rapidly advancing changes, the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) has a new master plan for the IP sector. As this “paradigm shift” is such a critical moment, says Sung Yunmo, commissioner for KIPO, the office must keep up with the complex changes and redefine the direction for IP policies.

In November 2017, KIPO announced its “Intellectual Property Policy Direction for the Fourth Industrial Revolution”, aiming to build a system that creates a “virtuous cycle where creation, protection and utilisation of IP leads to innovation and growth”, says Yunmo, who was appointed commissioner last year.

Faster IP

One of the main changes will be to examination, which will be expedited in 2018 for seven 4IR-related fields: artificial intelligence (AI); internet of things (IoT); 3D printing; autonomous driving; big data; cloud technology; and intelligent robots.

Because innovation in the 4IR is moving so quickly, it is important for innovators to secure fast IP protection in these areas, says Yunmo. The average time for obtaining a patent is currently 16.4 months, but KIPO is aiming to process applications for 4IR technology in just 5.7 months.