- More than 557,000 cases, the highest ever since 2006 with an increase of 9.1%

- It showed a high upward trend focused on “Digital economy, healthcare, medicine” and “Small and medium-sized businesses”

 According to the Korean Intellectual Property Office (Commissioner Kim, Yong Rae) on the January 13, 2021, despite the difficult economic conditions caused by COVID-19 last year, IPR applications such as patents, trademarks, and designs exceeded 557,000 annually, a record high. This is a 9.1% increase from the previous year, the highest growth rate since 2006 and the highest number of applications ever.

 Regarding this trend, an official from the Korean Intellectual Property Office said, “As seen in past cases, IP applications have been directly linked to GDP growth. Even in the difficult situation of COVID-19 recently, the number of applications is increasing rapidly, which gives a positive outlook for our economy.”

 In the case of patents, e-commerce applications (10,407 cases) showed the highest growth rate at 8.4%, supporting the growth of the online transaction market as the digital economy spreads. In addition, applications in the fields of medical service (9,983 cases, an increase of 8.1%), medicine (4,380 cases, an increase of 4.8%), and bio (4,566 cases, an increase of 2.7%) have also increased. The increased interest in medical and hygiene fields due to the recent COVID-19 was reflected.

 In design, household health and hygiene products (3,903 cases) showed an exceptional increase of 125.9%.
 

 As for trademarks, applications for medical devices (8,391 cases, 42.7%) and drug classification (14,530 cases, 31.3% increase) increased significantly, Along with the increase in personal broadcasting such as YouTube, the broadcasting and communication industry (7,998 cases, an increase of 37.3%) and electronic/audio/video equipment (26,865 cases, an increase of 18.0%) also recorded high growth rates. In addition, the growth rate of service industry-related trademark applications was 12.6%, which is higher than product-related applications, and this was analyzed that the reorganization of the industrial structure towards an advanced country type structure centered on the service industry is in progress. 

 In particular, trademark applications recorded the highest growth rate in the last 20 years, surpassing the number of patent applications in 36 years since 1985, which can be interpreted as reflecting the spread of social awareness of brand value. 

 Kim, Yong Rae, the Commissioner of the Korean Intellectual Property Office, said, “The increase in IPR applications last year reflects bold R&D investment, and will be a driving force that can turn the crisis of COVID-19 into an opportunity in the future,” and “The Korean Intellectual Property Office will continue to discover and promote various support policies so that Korean companies can preoccupy intellectual property rights so as to secure global market competitiveness.”