The patent system added the fuel of interests to the fire of genius. This is a statement that was written

in the entrance of the US Patent and Trademark Office. This is also a saying presented by Abraham

Lincoln, who was the 16th president of the United states and also was an inventor. This is a voice to

penetrate the accurate essence of patents. The Unites States established a Patent law to assure the

patent rights from the nation’s earliest days, and have been operating it ever since. Thomas Jefferson,

who was the first director of the patent office, left the saying “Those who lighted their own candles with

candles do not darken themselves and gain light by themselves.” Patent system in the Unites States

has driven infinite passion of creativity. As a result, the Unites States grew up to become the superpower,

casting Europe behind. Of course, protection of patents started in the United Kingdom, before the Unites

States. The United Kingdom introduced a system to grant letter patents to secure the main technologies

from overseas in 1623. The lead the Industrial revolution and it resulted in growing the United Kingdom

into a powerful nation.

In the 21th century, the world is not fighting over territories with guns and swords, but it is fighting over

intellectual properties without gunshots. The winner takes it all in intellectual properties’ war. In 2016

Dabos Forum, the experts pointed ‘Strong and flexible intellectual property system’ as one of the four

conditions to become a winner in the fourth Industrial revolution. The fourth Industrial revolution focuses

on plants using soft power and intellectualization of products. Intangible properties are more important

than tangible properties in soft power. For these reasons, competition of the nations to take the lead of

the 4th Industrial revolution is getting more fierce. However, compares to quantity of intellectual properties

created, quality of the properties in Korea is not living up to the  expectations. Protection and usage of the

intellectual properties are also deficient. 

People say that this is a result of running industrial policies that we have been pursuing since 1970s. We

have been implementing ‘weak intellectual properties’ policy to protect the following companies who are

trying to use similar technologies, rather than to protect the leading companies. However, in the era of the

4th industrial revolution, change in existing intellectual property system is needed. The answer to this change

can be suggested in the ‘7th international intellectual properties and industrial security conference’, held in

Chosun Hotel, Sogonddong, Seoul, in May 17th(Wed), 18th(Thurs), hosted by Financial news and Patent

Office. In this conference, we will be able to hear wise opinions from overseas and domestic experts about

strategies to realize Korea as a power nation of intellectual properties, and developing methods. Now that

we have prepared the light ofcommunicating intellectual properties, fueling it is your duty.

Information

Title : The 7th International Intellectual Property & Industrial Security Conference

Theme : Conditions to win the 4th Industrial Revolution, Economics focused on intellectual properties

                *Sub Theme 1 : Intellectual properties are the driving force of developing the Korean economics

                *Sub Theme 2 : Monopoly and antitrust of intellectual properties

Time : Wednesday, May 17 ~ Thursday, May 18, 2017

Venue : Grand Ballroom, Westin Chosun Hotel, Seoul (1F)

Host : The Financial News, Korean Intellectual Property Office

Supervisor : Korea Intellectual Property Society, Korea Intellectual Property Protection Agency