The Korean Intellectual Property Office is ramping up efforts to lead a global intellectual property ecosystem by expanding strategic partnerships globally.

Its renewed efforts come amid the country's rising number of patented properties worldwide and its expanding presence in the global IP market.

South Korea has ranked fourth in the number of International Patent Cooperation Treaty applications, a system that allows one patent application filed with the World Intellectual Property Organization to have the same effect as applying in multiple countries.

As part of the agency's global expansion, KIPO Commissioner Lee Insil attended the 64th WIPO General Assembly earlier this month to enhance partnerships with patent agencies around the world.

During the event held in Geneva, Switzerland, from July 5-7, Lee held bilateral meetings with 12 international patent offices and signed individual memorandums of understanding with Australia, Saudi Arabia and Sweden.

KIPO and Australia's Patent Office agreed to expand cooperation in talent development and IP protection and to proactively share information on emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence.

With Saudi Arabia, KIPO has agreed to supply Korean textbooks jointly with WIPO to educate Saudi Arabian students on intellectual property.

This agreement aligns with Lee's commitment to export Korea's advanced patent administration system globally. KIPO has been dispatching its patent officers to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates for years to help elevate the patent examiners' capacity and streamline the patent review processes there.

With Sweden, KIPO agreed to provide support for Swedish researchers and patent officers through information services concerning the Asian patent administration system.

Apart from the three memorandums signed, KIPO has also reached a consensus to establish a Patent Prosecution Highway with Indonesia in the second half of this year.

Under this system, the results of Korean IP reviews can be used by Korean companies to accelerate the patent examination process in Indonesia, which can streamline patent registration for domestic companies entering Indonesia’s market.

As of this June, South Korea is running Patent Prosecution Highways with 37 countries.

Meanwhile, with Mexico, effective as of this month KIPO has established a system that enables domestic companies to use the results of patent applications from WIPO to advance the clock on the screening process in Mexico.

This system has effectively reduced the average period for patent registration from four years to 10.6 months for Korean companies in Mexico, according to KIPO.

Korea has also seen a number of key developments in intellectual property cooperation with the US and Japan this year.

In June, Lee traveled to Hawaii for IP5 talks, meeting in an the annual roundtable of global leading property offices of Korea, the US, Japan, China and Europe.

A notable outcome was bilateral talks held with the US Patent and Trademark Office that resulted in the signing of memorandums to enhance comprehensive cooperation in intellectual property protection and the patent review process.

Additionally, Korean-Japanese Patent Commissioners' talks resumed in Tokyo on May 31 after a six-year hiatus. The two agreed to cooperate in areas concerning trademark and design examination, and to restart examiner exchange initiatives.

"KIPO will continue to share Korea's knowledge and experience in IP globally," Lee said in a written interview with The Korea Herald.

"By continually pursuing strategic partnerships, we aim to nurture a patent-friendly ecosystem for Korean companies overseas."

By Song Jung-hyun and Lee Kwon-hyung

(junghyun792@heraldcorp.com) (kwonhl@heraldcorp.com)