For small enterprises with limited resources and technology, the extensive intellectual property war of industry giants such as Samsung and Apple may seem quite irrelevant.

But the steady growth trend in the domestic patents sector over the years indicates that even second-tier businesses have now picked up on the importance of their intangible intellectual assets, according to an IP service leader of the state-run Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency.

“Patents are a highly sophisticated field, which requires a constant watch on the market as well as legal knowledge and business strategy,” Zheng Deog-bae, director-general of KOTRA’s Overseas Intellectual Property Protection Office, told The Korea Herald in an interview.

For owner-operated businesses or small companies with less than 10 employees, it is challenging or almost impossible to pre-emptively allocate sufficient manpower to IP work.

“Here we’re talking about small players that struggle to survive in the market with an extremely limited range of technology and products,” Zheng said.

“But when it comes to patents, trademarks and copyright, the foremost task is to take preoccupancy in the market to move a step ahead of potential rivals.”

IP acquisition prior to market entry is especially important for companies tapping into overseas markets in China and Southeast Asia, the official added.

“The application and issuing processes in China are relatively loose, compared to other developed countries, but what makes it difficult for foreign companies is the linguistic barrier and the bureaucratic control of the Chinese government,” Zheng said.

China, conventionally notorious for its frequent violation of IP and weak protection of rights, has recently been focusing on reinforcing its legal system, in step with its burgeoning technology sector.

In 2017, the number of patent and trademark issuances stood at some 9.5 million, up 34.1 percent from the previous year, according to KOTRA.

Seeking to support South Korean small and medium enterprises in IP-related strife, the state-run agency kicked off its IP-desk service in 2012 in collaboration with the Korean Intellectual Property Office, initially focusing on trademark operations.

“Monetary support is most appreciated by cash-strapped SMEs, as we provide 50 percent of the application fees and up to 70 percent of the damage investigation costs,” Zheng said.

The company currently operates 14 IP-desk offices in eight countries, with six of them located in China and three in Southeast Asia. In other areas, Korean SMEs may contact their local KOTRA office for support.

An example is MY House, a Korean SME that manufactures and distributes bedding fabrics and curtains. The company’s plan to enter the Chinese market in 2016 was obstructed by a Chinese rival that registered MYHOUSE as its own brand after noticing the Korean company’s potential at a Shanghai exhibition in 2011.

With the help of KOTRA’s Tsingtao office and domestic IP-desk, the Korean company named the Chinese version of its trademarks and registered them in China, before kicking off sales in the market.

“A key change that we have detected over those years is that SMEs’ IP-related concerns have been shifting from design rights and trademarks to patents and trade secrets,” the official said.

“This indicates that they are widening their business perspective, as the former two are intuitive rights that involve visible subjects while the other two are more abstract and complicated.”

It was amid such a trend that KOTRA’s IP-desk started to expand its service to the patent sector, starting this year. It is also discussing with the government on building a protection system in the area of trade secrets.

“Patents are often meaningful indicators for the mid-term development of a country or industry,” the official said.

“The yearly number of trademark applications here faltered from 2007-2008, reflecting companies’ budget cuts, but that of patent applications continued its uptrend throughout the global financial crisis period.”

Such steady research and development, as well as long-term investment in patent rights, is what boosted South Korea’s industry in the years that followed, according to Zheng.

By Bae Hyun-jung (tellme@heraldcorp.com)

The Korea Herald is publishing a series of interviews on experts in the intellectual property sector. This is the fourth installment. -- Ed.