back to article Someone's tried sneaking semiconductor secrets out of South Korea's patent office

South Korea announced new measures on Thursday to prevent future leaks of technology from its patent office, after noticing increasing incidence of leaks and worrying that it could hurt local companies when stolen IP goes overseas. According to the nation's Ministry of Economics and Finance, the patent office experienced 97 …

  1. Pascal Monett Silver badge

    "build their own chip company in China"

    What a coincidence. China is by far the country in the world that is most implicated in IP theft. Not having any security around your IP is just you giving to China whatever it is you got working.

  2. Pete 2 Silver badge

    Open secret

    > leaks of technology from its patent office

    I was under the impression that part of the patenting process was that the invention is described and that description is made public.

    All a patent does is record the patent holder as the inventor. It doesn't grant rights of secrecy, profit or protection. it is up to the patent holder to fight any infringements, with their own money. If they don't, then the patent can lapse.

    Maybe it's different in SK?

    1. Sam Jelfs

      Re: Open secret

      When you apply for a patent there is a 1 year window where it is still secret, and only the examiner at the patent office gets to see it. If for whatever reason it is not granted after that year, then it is never published / made public. Getting access to applications before they are published could give you a strategic advantage....

      1. I am David Jones Silver badge

        Re: Open secret

        Yeah, but you don’t get trade secrets in patents and it’s hard to imagine that getting a one year advantage could be worth billions. It wouldn’t even say much about the company’s strategy as applications are typically filed to cover multiple directions, both to give them more freedom to change direction, as well as to somewhat mask their actual intention.

        And most applications are published whether or not the patent is ultimately granted.

        1. O'Reg Inalsin

          Not just patent

          Either the title or the content (order rearranged) is possibly misleading:

          1. The total estimated damage from these leaks was ₩23 trillion ($16.8 billion).

          2. More than 60 percent of the breaches were attributed to "insider actions" – often masked as personnel transfers, mergers, or acquisitions.

          3. It’s not just patent probes that worry South Korean authorities.

          4. "There have been many suspicions of technology leakage through mergers and acquisitions in fields such as OLED and automobiles, and some companies have withdrawn from Korea after transferring domestic technology to overseas parent companies," explained the Ministry.

          The order IMO should be 3, 2, 4, 1. And the title should not be limited to the patent office.

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