IP Office unveils plan to promote employee invention system, spur technological innovation
Regulations on employee inventions in the workplace will be removed through measures including streamlined profit-sharing for intellectual property jointly owned by universities, public research institutes and companies, and the introduction of an ex officio mediation system to resolve disputes.
The Korea Intellectual Property Office on Thursday announced the "Employee Invention System Improvement and Revitalization Plan" at the 41st National Intellectual Property Committee meeting held at the Government Seoul Complex, aimed at fostering researchers' creative activities and accelerating technological innovation.
The employee invention system is a key mechanism through which technologies developed by researchers and employees are transferred to companies and universities for commercialization, with fair compensation used to attract top talent. However, the system's complexity has long caused confusion in research settings, and operational difficulties combined with a lack of incentives for adopting companies have kept the adoption rate among small and medium-sized enterprises at just 45.1 percent, limiting the system's effectiveness.
To address these problems, the government incorporated feedback from universities, public research institutes and companies and drew up three core strategies and 10 priority tasks: rationalizing regulations for universities and public research institutes, expanding incentives for private companies, and building a cooperative infrastructure for employee inventions.
▶ Rationalizing patent regulations for universities and public research institutes
First, procedures for returning abandoned patents will be simplified to prevent severe administrative waste at universities and public research institutes. Under the current system, individual notification to all researchers was required; going forward, the notification obligation will be streamlined to focus on researchers with registered contact information. The office will also eliminate legal confusion by aligning the timing of rights transfers — which currently differs between the Invention Promotion Act and the Patent Act — to the Patent Act standard.
In addition, autonomy in the use of technology fees will be significantly expanded. The range of discretionary allocation for integrated compensation to researchers and commercialization personnel, as well as costs related to intellectual property, will be broadened to encourage active technology commercialization.
▶ Expanding incentives for private companies to adopt the employee invention system
To encourage companies to adopt the system, preferential benefits under government support projects will be substantially expanded. The number of intellectual property-related support projects eligible for preferential treatment — including the IP-linked research and development strategy support project (IP-R&D) — will grow from the current six to more than 20 by 2027. A new "preferential track" will also be created, granting bonus points when selecting projects under research and development programs run by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the Ministry of SMEs and Startups.
To ease the burden on companies, the validity period of the "Outstanding Employee Invention Compensation Company" certification will be extended from three years to four. Employee invention system consulting will also be upgraded from a one-time service to a "full-cycle, stage-by-stage consulting" program covering both the pre- and post-adoption phases.
▶ Building a cooperative infrastructure among researchers, universities, public research institutes and companies
To resolve profit-sharing issues for intellectual property jointly owned by universities, public research institutes and companies, the government will establish a legal basis for advance agreements allowing companies to share in revenues, and will also provide legal review and negotiation support. Legal foundations supporting startups will also be strengthened, including eased licensing conditions for researchers or faculty members planning to launch companies.
To resolve compensation disputes between researchers and companies quickly, an ex officio mediation system will be introduced at the Industrial Property Dispute Mediation Committee. Under this system, the mediation body directly proposes a settlement when the parties cannot reach agreement on their own — an arrangement expected to reduce unnecessary legal disputes and facilitate amicable resolutions.
The Korea Intellectual Property Office plans to begin revising relevant laws and regulations in earnest in the second half of this year to implement the plan, and from 2027 will strengthen tailored consulting and incentives to expand adoption of the employee invention system among small and medium-sized enterprises.
"This plan focuses on creating a virtuous cycle in which researchers' creative efforts lead to fair compensation, which in turn drives technological innovation in industry," said Kim Yong-seon, commissioner of the Korea Intellectual Property Office. "We will raise the national competitiveness of advanced industries by one level through field-centered policy support."
kwonhl@heraldcorp.com
