Largest organizational restructuring in KIPO’s history
The Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO, Commissioner Kim, Young-min) will reorganize its structure in order to provide better patent examination services, IP protection and usage from 9 September 2013.
This restructuring will allow KIPO to build a premium examination service for patent applications of fusion technologies and enhance systems to protect intellectual property rights (IPRs), while also providing easier and better public access to IP information.
First, KIPO’s major area of work, its patent examination operations, will place a greater focus on fusion technologies, allowing for an effective response to the latest emerging trends in cutting-edge technology.
The Patent Examination Policy Bureau will be established to develop and work on examination systems and policies as well as fusion technology. The examination of technologies related to Korea’s base, major, and growing industries will be reorganized by technological field into Patent Examination Bureaus 1, 2, and 3.
In addition, the International Cooperation and Customer Support Bureau will be restructured into the Intellectual Property Protection & Cooperation Bureau to enhance IPR enforcement and spread initiatives to create a society that respects and values creative efforts.
In particular, the Intellectual Property Investigation Division, soon to be established, will be fully responsible for leading the crackdown on counterfeit goods.
Furthermore, the Information Policy Bureau will be reorganized into the Information and Customer Service Bureau to enhance services for customers, including applications and registrations submitted through our information system. The Information Utilization Division, which is also to be established, will further promote the opening, sharing, and provision of IP information and build the foundations for vitalizing IP information service industry in the mid-to long-term for easier and better public access to the IP information.
