Singapore tightens IP cooperation with Republic of Korea
From today businesses will benefit from a new intellectual property (IP) cooperation between Singapore and the Republic of Korea (ROK), allowing quicker access to markets in both countries.
Park Wonjoo, Commissioner of Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) and Daren Tang, Chief Executive of IPOS, signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to foster greater cooperation between the countries.
According to the agreement, the countries will support each other in commercialising ideas, IP, and intangible assets into products and services, and promote growth in industries such as medicine, artificial intelligence, and the Internet of Things.
Under this partnership, Korean businesses will be able to tap into IPOS’s patent search and examination expertise to conduct international searches under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT).
Korean enterprises can also rely on a PCT report from IPOS, an International Searching Authority (ISA), to accelerate their patent grant in other countries. IPOS will also provide KIPO with the technical expertise to conduct prior art searches.
Korean enterprises keen to enter into the Chinese market will now be able to choose IPOS as an ISA to gain early insights into relevant prior art in the Chinese language.
During 2019, the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS) recorded a 47% increase in patent applications originating from ROK. The ROK was Singapore’s eighth-largest trading partner last year with a total of $39.4 billion bilateral trade, while Singapore was the sixth largest foreign investor in the ROK in 2018.
Wonjoo said: “The signing of this Memorandum of Understanding holds great significance and fascination for many Korean applicants, as it gives them another reliable and attractive choice for selecting PCT ISA. IPOS has a host of highly capable and linguistically competent examiners who are skilled at retrieving research and patent literatures published in English and Chinese. Korean applicants choosing IPOS as their ISA will be able to enjoy quality services of IPOS.”
Tang said: “IPOS and KIPO have enjoyed a warm long-standing relationship, with a common vision of using IP to drive innovation. This MoU will bring both agencies even closer together and create opportunities for Korean enterprises, which are renowned globally for their cutting-edge technology and innovation, to tap on IPOS’s deep technical expertise and ability to conduct patent searches in both English and Chinese. It will also enhance Singapore’s attractiveness as a base for Korean innovators to access regional markets and beyond.”
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