South Korea vowed to provide the United Arab Emirates strategic consulting to establish a patent screening agency there as part of a move to boost global ties in the intellectual property sector, the Korean office said.

Korean Intellectual Property Office Commissioner Choi Dong-gyou and Mohammed al-Shihhi, the undersecretary of the UAE Ministry of Economy, inked a memorandum of understanding on the strategic consulting at the high-ranking bilateral talks held at the 56th World Intellectual Property Organization general meeting in Geneva, Switzerland earlier this month. 

Starting from early next year, the Korean government will pass down tips and the benefit of experience on running the patent administration system while the counterpart will cover the consulting expenses.

“The agreement is meant to support the UAE, which seeks to look for a new vision for the de-oil generation in the intellectual property sector,” Choi said. “(I believe) this opportunity will serve as another landmark of expanding ‘administrative hallyu’ that shares Korean public administration experiences with other countries.”

In addition to providing consulting for the Arab country to establish a patent screening agency, the Seoul office will offer comprehensive consulting for drafting patent-related regulations and systems and training patent screening experts, the office said.

The bilateral talks were held as part of the nine-day WIPO general meeting. The KIPO commissioner also held bilateral talks with counterparts of Europe Intellectual Property Office, Japan, Sweden, Poland and others over exchanging human resources and patent data. The event kicked off on Oct. 3.

Some 190 country members of the WIPO, the affiliated organization of the United Nations, promote the international cooperation for the fast-changing environment for intellectual property in the Industry 4.0.

In the representative speech, Choi highlighted the importance of enhancing the intellectual property ecosystem so that it could speed up innovation and boost the technology advancement.

He also shared Korean patent-related signature measures, including a system that prevents poor patents.

The commissioner also signed a memorandum of understanding with Poland on providing support for running the Patent Prosecution Highway that allows for a faster examination process for corresponding applications filed in participating intellectual property offices.

“Korea’s participation in the WIPO general meeting has strengthened the global image of the world’s fourth intellectual property-creating country and contributed to forming a global standard for the intellectual property,” said KIPO officials.

KIPO has been actively promoting exchanges with relevant organizations and countries in its move to expand patent diplomacy. On Aug. 24, KIPO hosted the Global IP-Sharing Korea in Seoul, to share Seoul’s efforts to offer its know-how on international intellectual rights. The event was also attended by Francis Gurry, director general of WIPO.

By Lee Hyun-jeong (rene@heraldcorp.com)and Lee Kwon-hyoung