Special Command for IP right protection



‘R&D achievements are good. But protecting the IPR of the developed IT technology is even more important.’ This is the special command directed to the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI) and the Institute of Information Technology Assessment (IITA) and their subsidiaries.
According to the announcement made by government funded institutes on 24th, the ETRI has established a full-scale IT Transfer & Evaluation Center (ITEC) last year to exert all its power for IPR protection and the IITA has recently reorganized its Seoul office declaring itself reformed as an IPR protection and support agency.
Such measures are the inevitable results from the decision to protect Korea’s advanced technology as China is taking an aggressive stance to acquire newly developed technology while the risk of its leakage is increasing along with the demand for its commercialization.

◇IITA
The IITA will first expand IPR strategy team in its subsidiary organization, the Seoul Technology Commercialization Support Center, into the IT IPR Clinic Center. The reorganization process will be finished by as early as the end of this month or the beginning of the next month at the latest.
The reorganization process aims to equip itself to actively support the increased needs for IT IPR and respond to new trade barriers such as patent litigations. At the same time, the organization will focus on strengthening the global competitive power with the advance of IT839.
According to the reformation plan, IP Policy Planning Team, Examination and Analysis Team, and Legal Affairs Team will be newly established in the IT IPR Clinic Center. Five experts will be assigned in the IP Policy Team expanding the number to twelve.
Additionally, a lawyer or a patent attorney with specialty and experience in IT IPR will be recruited for the head of the center.

◇ETRI
The ETRI newly established the ITEC last year to reinforce IPR protection and commercialization. It will take charge of the evaluation and transfer of the technology along with the tech-transfer of the small and medium sized companies. The ITEC oversees the overall process of recruiting potential technology for commercialization, technology evaluation, tech-transfer, and supporting venture companies. There will be three supporting teams: tech-transfer team, tech-evaluation team, and tech-promotion team.
The director of management support, Kim, Seon-bong, commented that the reorganization will proceed after the final decision of the board of directors after which the ITEC will assume the role of an assistant that analyzes domestic IT IPR, especially providing overall support for patent litigations to small and venture companies in the IT industry.


[Source: Section 17, Digital Times, Aug. 25, 2005]