Ministry promotes pool of information patents

Starting next year, if a pilot test succeeds, state-run research institutes and small and medium information technology firms will be able to tap a pool of about 100 patented technologies owned by those institutes and firms. The Ministry of Information and Communication said yesterday that it would pool technology rights to spur commercial development. In the first stage, 16 state-run research institutes and information technology companies, including the Electronics Telecommunications Research Institute, the Korea Institute of Science and Technology and Telson Electronics, will share their patented technologies. If the scheme is successful, the ministry said, it planned to encourage all information technology firms to participate in the project by the second half of next year. The ministry is also considering expanding initiatives to research institutes and companies in the fields of biotechnology or nanotechnology. Participating companies should open patents that they hold to other members and could use patents of research institutes without a fee. Companies that use foreign technologies and want to shift to domestic technology will have priority in services. The ministry said that about 100 patented processes or products are already at the stage where they can be used commercially. “Small and medium information technology firms have had difficulties in developing technology; on the other hand, it was not easy for research institutes to market great technology even after they developed them,” said Choi Jae-yu of the ministry. “If the pool system takes root, it will contribute to strengthening the technological competitiveness of companies and facilitating the commercialization of technologies held by research institutes.” The ministry estimated that the system could save companies $19 billion in technology royalties through 2010. by Choi Hyung-kyu