June 16, 2023
Korea-Japan Heads of IP Office Meeting Resumed for the First Time in Six Years
June 01, 2023
The Korea-Japan Heads of IP Office Meeting was held on May 31, 2023 in Tokyo. The Commissioner Lee Insil of the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) met with Commissioner Hamano Koichi of the Japan Patent Office (JPO) to discuss current issues in the IP field and future cooperation.
The last Heads Meeting was held six years ago in 2017. It is particularly meaningful to be resuming high-level meetings in the area of intellectual property (IP) with the resumption of shuttle diplomacy between the two countries after Korea-Japan summits were held in March (Korea) and May (Japan) earlier this year.
Commissioner Lee and Commissioner Koichi both recognized the need for mutual cooperation to develop the IP system in an environment with rapidly developing new technologies such as AI, IoT, extended reality (i.e., metaverse), etc. and increasing importance of innovation to achieve sustainable development goals (SDGs) such as climate change response.
Additionally, they agreed to 1) resume a working-level committee in trademark and design examination, trials, digitization, and enhancement of examiner capabilities, 2) exchange examiners between both IP offices, and 3) share experience to establish a classification system for green technology.
Furthermore, both commissioners agreed to continue working-level discussions and exchange information regarding the Collaborative Search Program (CSP*) to provide fast and accurate patent examination services to applicants in both countries.
* Collaborative Search program: When filing an application for an identical patent in both countries, the applicant can request examiners of both countries to share prior art search to facilitate the examination process.
During the meeting, Commissioner Lee formally invited Commissioner Koichi to attend the TRIPO Heads Meeting among Korea, Japan, China which will be hosted by KIPO later this year with mutual agreement to have close cooperation for its sucess.
At the official welcome banquet hosted by JPO, both commissioners announced their commitment to continuous efforts to fully restore diplomacy between the two countries in the IP field again.
Commissioner Lee emphasized that "It is greatly appreciated to have a Korea-Japan Heads of IP Office Meeting for the first time in six years as the cooperative relationship between our countries is restoring." She added, "With this opportunity, we will closely cooperate in various areas to contribute to the development of IP and become leaders in establishing an advanced global IP system."
(Description) Commissioner Lee Insil of KIPO and Commissioner Hamano Koichi of JPO gathered together for a Heads Meeting for the first time in six years on May 31, 2023 in Tokyo and discussed current issues regarding IP and future cooperations.