February 10, 2023
KIPO-WIPO Roundtable with Youth and Women-led Innovative SMEs
□ The Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) hosted a roundtable discussions with innovative SMEs led by Youth and Women on Friday, February 10, 2023 at D·CAMP in Seoul during the official visit of the head of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) to the Republic of Korea (ROK).
ㅇ In attendance were Director General Daren Tang of WIPO, Deputy Director Dong-hyeon Ryu of KIPO, CEO Young-deok Kim of D·CAMP, as well as representatives from eight SMEs with IP-based growth and IP experts from affiliated organizations.
□ Since appointment as head of WIPO in 2020, Director General Tang has been implementing a various IP policies to establish an international IP ecosystem that provides a foundation of innovation and growth with a focus on SMEs, youth and women.
ㅇ Recognized as the most powerful innovative competency in Asia, the ROK was chosen as the first country of Director General Tang’s 2023 mission. During this official visit, a roundtable was hosted to have direct experience of the ROK’s innovation ecosystem and hear the voices from the ground.
□ Under the topic “The role of IP in the growth of enterprises and economy,” youth and women representatives of innovative SMEs shared their experiences with IP during the startups and growth of their businesses and discussed the role of IP in enterprise development.
ㅇ Participants requested the active support of KIPO and WIPO in areas of technology development, IP finance and commercialization to foster IP-based enterprise growth.
ㅇ Director General Tang said that he was "deeply impressed by the efforts of outstanding innovative enterprises in the ROK," adding that he "wishes to actively cooperate with KIPO so that Korean innovative SMEs can share their growth experience based on IPs."