South Korea and Saudi Arabia plan to carry out additional projects to establish a national strategy on intellectual property, develop administrative information system for patent management, and consult small and medium-sized firms in Saudi Arabia. (image: Korean Intellectual Property Office)
DAEJEON, Apr. 2 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea will participate in a project to establish an ecosystem for intellectual property led by the Saudi Arabian government aiming to achieve its national goal of ‘Vision 2030’.
Park Won-joo, Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) Commissioner, and Mohammed Al-Swailem, the CEO of Saudi Authority for Intellectual Property, met at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on March 31 to agree on plans to send 15 South Korean experts on intellectual property to Saudi Arabia to carry out training programs for Saudi patent examiners.
The joint project, which will continue until Saudi Arabia completes the introduction of the system of intellectual property by 2023, will cost as much as US$38 million.
South Korea and Saudi Arabia also plan to carry out additional projects to establish a national strategy on intellectual property, develop administrative information system for patent management, and consult small and medium-sized firms in Saudi Arabia.
The two countries have traditionally cooperated primarily on projects related to resources and construction. Now, they are going beyond previous sectors to work together in the field of intellectual property.
The new project will serve as a valuable opportunity to spread the Korean model of public administration worldwide.
The KIPO already exported Korean public service models worth US$14 million to the United Arab Emirates in 2014 through the delegation of patent examination and setting up information systems for patent management.
“South Korea’s participation in Saudi Arabia’s initiative on intellectual property shows the current state of Korea-Saudi Arabia relations,” said Commissioner Park.
“Spreading the Korean model of patent management worldwide will help South Korean firms better acquire and protect their intellectual property rights.”
M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
