1. The copyright registration of digital contents is rapidly increasing
People’s interest in the digital contents copyright is progressively increasing. The number of registrations of copyright in 2007 greatly increased compared to that of 2006, totaling more than 15,000. The number of consultations regarding copyrights increased more than twice that of 2006. These increases are considered as resulting from the fact that the copyright has been raised as an issue of national commerce in view of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and the people’s interest in copyright has been enhanced as the number of damage cases caused by illegal copying of works has increased.
The Copyright Commission (Chairman: TaeSub NOH) surveyed the ‘number of consultations regarding copyrights in 2007’. According to this survey, the number of consultations regarding copyrights in 2007 was 52,869, increasing more than two times that (21,222) of 2006. By consultation media, an online automatic consultation service was the most used. The online automatic consultation service started in March, 2006. As its service has been gradually stabilized, the number of consultations conducted by the online automatic consultation service is recorded as 47,382 in 2007, increasing more than three times that of 2006.
According to the Copyright Commission, the number of registered foreign works, including the works from U.S.A. and Great Britain, was 176 and the number of works registered by companies was 11,440 (with 74%). It is considered that companies are more positive in using copyright registration, compared to individuals. Specifically, a great increase in the registration of foreign works is regarded as an advance action to protect the copyright of those works and to actively utilize the copyright in connection with the final agreement of FTA.
2. In 2007, the number of approved patents in China increased by 30%
On February 12, 2008, China Daily, a governmental English newspaper, reported that in China, the number of approved patents in 2007 was 351,782, increasing by 31.3% compared to that in 2006. According to the State Intellectual Property Office of the People’s Republic of China, the total of the approved Chinese patents in 2007 is 351,782, including 301,632 owned by Chinese patentees and 50,150 owned by foreign patentees.
By fields, the number of patents for new technologies is 150,036 and the number of patents for inventions is 67,948.
The number of patents approved in China by the end of 2007 totaled 2,089,000 including 1,790,000 domestic patents and 299,000 foreign patents.
The State Intellectual Property Office considers that the increase in the number of patents implies an improvement in the Chinese capability of developing new technologies.
3. The number of patent applications related to internet phone
The number of patent applications related to the internet phone, which stopped more or less increasing about the beginning of 2000, is again increasing.
According to the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO), the number of patent applications related to the internet phone, which was only 14 in 1999, rapidly increased to 103 in 2000, expecting that the internet phone would be popularized as a computer-based service would be provided free. However, due to the low quality service, such as loss of connections during communication, the internet phone was not activated and therefore the number of the applications fell back by 2003.
However, with a feeling of expectancy for various additional services, the number of the applications again started increasing, i.e., 47 in 2004, 71 in 2005 and 96 in 2006.
Beginning in 2008, the phone number movement system was introduced for the internet phone. The phone number movement system is to use a local landline phone number, which has been used by a user, as an internet phone number, without changing the number. Further, provided is a service which integrates a dual phone combined with a mobile phone network, image communication, voice communication, fax and e-mail as one. Since these services are expected to increase the demand of the internet phone, the number of the relevant applications is expected to increase accordingly.
By applicants, the number of the applications filed by big companies is 42% of the total number of the applications related to the internet phone, that of small and medium companies is 28%, that of individuals is 20% and that of the others is 10%.
4. Samsung Electronics and Matsushita co-own the semiconductor patent
Samsung Electronics and Matsushita, a Japanese company, announced that they concluded the mutual co-ownership agreement of a semiconductor-related patent.
The two companies agreed that the agreement term should be ten years, to the end of January 2018, and they canceled all the patent trials filed against each other.
However, a spokesman of Samsung Electronics said that the detailed agreement contents would not be published according to the mutual consent of the parties to the agreement.
|
