Support for five sectors, including the hydrogen industry and carbon composite materials.
Expanding support from individual companies' patent strategies to all startups.
The Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) provides R&D strategies, while the Ministry of SMEs and Startups connects R&D funding.

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups and the Korean Intellectual Property Office are working together to strengthen the patent competitiveness of startups.

The two ministries announced on the 18th that they will jointly promote 'corporate group common core technology IP-R&D' support for startups in each field currently supported by the Creative Economy Innovation Center (hereinafter referred to as the Innovation Center).

IP-R&D refers to R&D consulting that supports optimal R&D direction and strategy based on patent (IP) analysis.

The corporate IP-R&D program will be launched this year to share and disseminate patent strategies for new and challenging technologies commonly needed by multiple companies. To provide practical assistance to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that have been unable to properly understand relevant patents due to lack of human resources and funds, we analyze and provide the industry with essential patents by field that must be known.

Specifically, by analyzing patents from leading overseas companies, we provide our startups with a wealth of information on new technologies. We also build a pool of usable patented technologies to support the product development strategies of latecomers and identify promising R&D projects.
The Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) has provided IP-R&D support to individual companies, providing consulting services based on patent analysis to determine optimal R&D directions and strategies for securing high-quality patents. As a result, companies receiving IP-R&D support have achieved significant results, including 1.3 to 3.7 times the number of high-quality patents and overseas patents and a doubled sales growth rate compared to non-supported companies.

The corporate IP-R&D program expands this support for individual companies to support corporate groups by sector, enabling more companies in the industry to benefit.

This project will involve patent strategy experts (PMs) from the Korea Patent Strategy Development Institute, patent analysis agencies, and industry-academia-research experts, and a total of 1.05 billion won will be invested in analysis costs this year to select and support projects for 17 innovation centers nationwide. We plan to provide up to 4 billion won in R&D funding from the Ministry of SMEs and Startups to promising R&D projects derived from corporate IP-R&D.

The areas of support were selected through a preliminary demand survey targeting each innovation center, including the hydrogen industry, new energy industry, and carbon composite materials, as new industries that urgently require the establishment of an industrial ecosystem and the fostering of startups.

Each innovation center must identify common core technology topics needed by startups within its field by March 8th and submit them to the Korea Patent Strategy Development Institute, the project implementation agency, along with multiple participating companies.
The corporate IP-R&D initiative is expected to serve as an "open innovation platform" where not only startups interested in common core technology topics but also other regional innovators, such as mid-sized companies and universities, can participate, sharing patent analysis of the latest technologies and seeking collaboration opportunities.

Park Ho-hyung, Director of the Industrial Property Policy Bureau of the Korean Intellectual Property Office, said, “Many vulnerable companies in industries that do not receive individual support will be able to establish essential patent strategies through corporate group IP-R&D,” adding, “In particular, we expect this collaboration with the Ministry of SMEs and Startups to play a major role in the development of innovative technologies by startups.”

Kwon Dae-soo, Director General of Startup Promotion Policy at the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, said, “The Ministry of SMEs and Startups will continue to strengthen cooperation with the Korean Intellectual Property Office to help promising technology-based startups secure patent competitiveness and grow in the global market.”rdquo; said.