선순환적 특허생태계 구축을 위한 특허관리전문회사의 역할 제고 방안

Abstract

In the past, there has been a negative perception of “patent management companies” that generate profits through patent lawsuits or license contracts by purchasing patents without technology development or manufacturing activities due to random patent infringement claims or excessive license fees. However, in the global market, patent management companies that generate profits using patents are active, and are established as a business model in the patent market. Although Korea has achieved quantitative growth in the number of patent applications in the world, the intellectual property trade balance is still in deficit due to negative perceptions of patent monetization, lack of awareness of overseas patent acquisition, and defensive attitudes in global patent disputes. To turn the intellectual property trade balance into a surplus, it is necessary to generate substantial profits based on the global market with intellectual property created by R&D investment, and to improve the positive role of patent management companies to build a virtuous cycle patent ecosystem. To this end, this article compared and analyzed the current status of patent management companies at home and abroad, and investigated the latest lawsuits and licensing cases related to major patent management companies. Furthermore, the following institutional and policy measures were proposed to present positive effects and desirable business models of patent management companies, and to ensure that patent management companies play a positive role in protecting Korean companies' patent rights, creating value and utilizing patent technology. They are the necessity of ⅰ) raising awareness of patent monetization, ⅱ) improving the legal system for the use of national R&D patents, ⅲ) supporting SME patent monetization, and ⅳ) fostering domestic patent management companies. When patent rights are respected and the patent market is activated in Korea, an environment where patent management companies can actively operate in accordance with global standards, a virtuous cycle of patent ecosystem can be established that can contribute to strengthening national competitiveness by reinvesting profits using patents in R&D and technology development.