기술유출 방지를 위한 비밀특허제도의 개선방향에 대한 고찰 — 일본 경제안전보장추진법 및 기타 주요국과의 비교를 중심으로 —

Abstract

Only ‘inventions necessary for national defense’ are subject to secret patents in Korea. However, as major countries prohibit the disclosure of technologies that threaten national security, the scope is broader than that of Korea. In particular, Japan re-introduced the secret patent system by enacting the Economic Security Promotion Act in May 2022, expanding the scope to specific important technologies. In the case of Korea, it is necessary to target the scope of national core technologies and strategic technologies such as semiconductors, biotechnology, secondary batteries, and displays. Also, it is necessary to consider a method of classifying technologies invested in national R&D budgets as objects of confidential patents in the first place among technologies corresponding to national security. The designation and cancellation of secret patents should be reviewed at least once a year. In addition, it is necessary to operate flexibly in conjunction with those who frequently designate and release national core and strategic technologies. In order to guarantee the effectiveness of the secret patent system, it is necessary to introduce the principle of first country application to the KIPO. For this to be effective, it is necessary to establish a penalty provision. In addition, In order to facilitate the procedure for the designation of a secret patent and to check in advance whether the patent is subject to a secret patent, it will be necessary to establish a dedicated organization or unify the confirmation window in the KIPO to inquire whether the patent is subject to a secret patent or not. When the secret patent system is introduced, it is necessary to designate an institution that will prepare a compensation system, evaluate the reasonable compensation amount, and calculate the compensation amount accordingly. In addition, it will be necessary to prepare standards for information leakages prevention measures such as confidentiality for applicants and related businesses, prepare penalties for securing their effectiveness, distribute manuals for security management, and support education.