Source: KIPO
Date: 2012. 2. 27

- Korea’s three largest shipbuilding companies “surpassed 4,000 patent applications” in 2011 -

Despite hardships from the global economic downturn, Korea’s three largest shipbuilding companies have drastically increased their number of patent applications over the past year, a sign of a bright future for the Korean shipbuilding industry <refer to Drawing 1 and Table 1>.

An analysis of the patent application trends of 2011 show that while the total number of patent applications in Korea increased by 4.3 percent reaching 183,762, the number of applications by the Korean shipbuilding industry increased by 65 percent year-on-year reaching 4,315. The Korean shipbuilding industry has now entered into an era where companies apply for more than 1,000 patents a year <refer to Drawing 1 and Table 1>.

Officials responsible for patents at these companies believe this trend of increasing patent application is a reflection of fierce efforts made by Korea’s large shipbuilding companies to consolidate their superiority in the midst of escalating technological competition with the growing Chinese shipbuilding industry.”

Last year, patent applications by Hyundai Heavy Industries increased by an explosive 242 percent. According to its intellectual property rights officer, the dramatic increase is due to a high interest and promotion of technological development and patent applications by top-level executives, the compensation scheme for employee inventions and the rise in compensation amount.

A KIPO official said, "The patent applications recently made by the Korean marine industry is drastically increasing compared to China, Japan and other major competing countries as a reflection of efforts made by the industry to overcome the economic depression through technological development. The patents are expected to have a positive impact on the strengthening of the industry’s technological competitiveness" <refer to Drawing 2 and Table 2>.