The head of the country’s intellectual property rights authority pledged Thursday to share its know-how with developing and underprivileged countries.

“We have been holding the Global Intellectual Property Sharing campaign, where we collate intermediate technology from registered intellectual properties tailored for people in underdeveloped countries,” said Choi Dong-gyou, commissioner of the Korean Intellectual Property Office, in his interview with The Korea Herald. Intermediate technology generally refers to small-scale, decentralized, energy-efficient technology, as opposed to pricey new technology.

“These forms of technology are essential in enhancing the livelihood of such people. For example, we have developed a portable water purifier for people in Cambodia in 2011, bamboo housing construction technology in Nepal in 2012, and aroma oil extractor in the Philippines in 2013,” he said.

Aligned with overseas development aid organizations, the Office has supported less-developed countries in establishing an IPR administration system ― in Mongolia in 2011 and in Azerbaijan in 2013. KIPO has also participated in streamlining the African Regional Intellectual Property Organization’s IP information service.

Choi also forged global ties in order to narrow the gap between IP leading countries and those who do not have many patents, trademarks and copyrights.

“We plan to collaborate with Southeast Asia, Middle East and South American states. This is also a good way to protect our IPR because South Korean companies will be working a lot in the regions and will be in need of IP protection or the use of overseas IPR,” Choi said.

The agency signed a memorandum of understanding with Taiwan and Columbia on Patent Prosecution Highways that expedites patent applications. This will shorten the time spent for patent applications in different countries, KIPO officials said. It is also working on exporting IPR information management systems.

“We will reinforce our overseas IPR protection by collaborating with foreign customs services. We will also keep discussing about IPR system improvement and other current affairs with the global society,” he said.

The reasons for Korea’s growing interest in IPR administration as well as global network establishment is because it has the fourth-largest number of patent applications ― with 210,292 cases as of 2014 ― and the world’s fifth-largest international patent applications ― with 13,151 cases during the same period, according to experts.

The commissioner suggested that there is a need to dissolve the IPR-Divide ― the gap between IPR-leading states and the followers ― at the World Intellectual Property Organization 55th Series of Meetings of the Assemblies held in Geneva earlier this month.

He shared Korea’s experience of revising the law to reinforce IPR protection and to ease patent-seeking processes. “We will provide our database with the WIPO’s centralized access to search and examination service in order to simplify the authorization of IPR locally and overseas,” Choi said.

KIPO is also working on hosting WIPO’s East Asia office in Korea. He met with leaders from six countries during the WIPO convention to ask for their support in the project. “With the four leading IP countries ― Japan, the U.S., the U.K., Poland ― and others, we have decided to expand our realm of collaboration from the current trademark and patent to design factors,” Choi said.

By Bae Ji-sook and Lee Kwon-hyung (baejisook@heraldcorp.com)