January 17, 2022
KIPO named as the world's most innovative IP office
- Distinctive competitiveness in digital intellectual property even amid crisis receives global recognition -
Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) has been named as the most innovative IP agency in the world, together with the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO), in the World Trademark Review(WTR*)'s annual analytical reporting, IP Office Innovation Ranking.
* A journal in the UK specializing in IP (founded in 2002)
** Since 2017, IP offices in the world have been evaluated annually by experts and based on data collected by WTR in terms of 16 metrics in 3 areas including online service capabilities, policies related to trademark protection and utilization, and efforts to communicate with users.
Before it topped the 2021 edition of the ranking, KIPO has actually been consistently nominated for the top five list - sixth in 2019 and third in 2020 - for its continued commitment to innovation in policy and practice, including introduction of the world's first mobile trademark filing system in 2020.
For this year's analysis, IP offices of the top 60 countries having the highest number of trademark applications filed in 2020 were studied.
To take a closer look at the results, KIPO moved itself from the sixth place to the first spot in the category of online service capabilities where the website availability and convenience, e-filing service offerings, and artificial intelligence(AI)-based search system were reviewed.
The most dramatic jump was made in the area of communication with users/stakeholders - where efforts to hold briefing sessions about the trademark system for the public and interact with applicants through social networking services count - as KIPO moved from the previous 23rd place upwards to the first place.
For years, KIPO has been working hard on developing its own AI-based trademark image search system for its examiners as a way to improve its examination quality, and also on refining its e-filing system for users which led to the fact that in 2021, 98% of the trademark applications were filed electronically.
Recently, as online trades of counterfeit goods are rapidly increasing at a time when contact-free engagement and interactions are becoming more and more common due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, it has stepped up its efforts to prevent and crackdown on such illegalities both online and offline.
KIPO Commissioner Kim Yong-rae remarked, "I'm pleased with result and to say that the achievement of holding the first place in the WTR's innovation metrics in the trademark area may represent that our innovative efforts to enhance convenience on the applicants side, as well as examination efficiency, was well recognized by the world."
Commissioner Kim further said, "KIPO will not settle for this but will keep working hard to find ways to better use AI and other new technologies in response to the rapidly changing digital environment, strengthen communication with our stakeholders to provide applicants with high quality services, and build an environment where IP rights are effectively protected and utilized."