KOREAN NET

Korean Intellecutal Property Office (KIPO) Commissioner Kim Wan Ki (left) on March 6 takes a photo with Spanish Patent and Trademarks Office Director Elisa Rodriguez Ortiz after their talks in Madrid. (KIPO)

By Xu Aiying

Acceleration of bilateral cooperation with Spain in intellectual property (IP) will include policy toward support for small and medium enterprises (SME).

Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) Commissioner Kim Wan Ki on March 6 in Madrid discussed bilateral cooperation in major IP issues with Spanish Patent and Trademark Office (SPTO) Director Elisa Rodriguez Ortiz.

By using big data on patents, both organizations agreed to lay the direction for research and development (R&D) to support IP finance for SMEs by pledging to share their policy experiences and know-how.

The SPTO agreed to actively cooperate to develop the Spanish-language version of IP Panorama 2.0, an IP e-learning program developed by KIPO and the World Intellectual Property Organization, and proposed to release it at next year's meeting on the Ibero-American Intellectual Property Program in Madrid.

Based on the results of their talks, KIPO and the STPO decided to amend a 2011 bilateral memorandum of understanding (MOU) on comprehensive cooperation to reflect changes in the IP environment and promote the MOU's renewal to support SMEs including IP finance.

In addition, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities on March 5 held the second meeting of their joint committee on industrial technology cooperation. They agreed on funding of KRW 27 billion to back joint R&D of cutting-edge industries such as artificial intelligence, cutting-edge materials and semiconductors.

Both countries will also use Korea Eureka Day, a networking event slated for next month in Germany for Korea and member states of Eureka, an intergovernmental organization for R&D funding and coordination, to keep supporting bilateral technical exchanges in industry, academia and research and actively back promising projects in technology cooperation.

xuaiy@korea.kr