Theory and practice of intellectual property
№ 4 / 2024
ISSN (Print) 2308-0361
ISSN (Online) 2519-2744
PDF (Ukrainian)DOI: https://doi.org/10.33731/42024.317232
Submitted 2024-11-09
Accepted 2024-11-20
Published 2024-12-10
Preventing technology leaks through the patent office in South Korea: lessons for Ukraine
Gennadiy Androshchuk
Ph.D. (Economics), Associate Professor, Chief Researcher of the Department of industrial property and commercialization of intellectual property objects of the Intellectual Property Scientific Research Institute of the National Academy of Legal Sciences of Ukraine
Ukraine
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0781-9740
Abstract
The article provides an economic and legal analysis of measures to ensure economic security and prevent leaks of technological secrets used by the Government of South Korea and the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO). On October 17, 2024, KIPO presented and approved “Measures to Combat Technology Leakage to Strengthen Global Industrial Competitiveness.” These measures are expected to strengthen the safety net for advanced technologies that are critical to the survival of domestic companies and economic security. They were formulated to address the potential national damage caused by the increasing leakage of advanced technologies in industries such as semiconductor manufacturing and secondary batteries. The plan aims to create a national technology protection system to prevent technology theft that hinders the growth of SMEs and venture capital companies, thereby increasing global industrial competitiveness and contributing to a dynamic economy. The leading role in the creation of a national technology protection system in South Korea belongs to KIPO. For this purpose, KIPO has made changes to the current procedural and patent legislation, the Law on the Prevention of Unfair Competition and the Protection of Commercial Secrets, plans to introduce a preventive system to prevent technology leakage using patent analysis of big data and technical expert research, is improving digital response systems, and introducing an idea certification system, strengthens cooperation with counterintelligence agencies. The guidelines for punishments for crimes in the technological sphere related to the violation of IP rights and technologies have been revised. Revised guidelines entered into force in July 2024 to implement stricter standards for trade secret misappropriation and theft of industrial technology, set separate sentencing standards for crimes related to “industrial technology” and “national basic technology”, and provide stricter penalties for violations, especially those occurring abroad. The state of leakage of technologies in Ukraine is analyzed, and mechanisms of their countermeasures are proposed.
Keywords: unfair competition, technology origins, intellectual property, commercial secret
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