“Sleeping patents” ... Technology transfer rate at public research institutes falls below 30%

\ \ [Financial News] South Korea boasts one of the world’s highest levels of R&D investment and number of patent applications, but the rate at which technologies developed by public research institutes are transferred to companies is actually declining. The report says the country needs to move away from policies focused on the “creation” of new patents and shift to an open-patent policy centered on “transfer and utilization,” connecting dormant patents with the small and medium-sized enterprises that need them.
The Korea Institute of Intellectual Property said on the 5th that it had published an IP Focus report titled “Policy Measures for Promoting Open Patent Policy to Strengthen Patent Utilization—Focusing on Cases in Japan and China.”

According to the report, the technology transfer rate at South Korean public research institutes stood at just 28.9% in 2024, falling below the 30% mark for the first time since 2012. The “technology utilization rate”—the share of accumulated technologies in use under valid transfer agreements—was also just 9.6%. The report says that for 49.4% of public-sector technology transfer agreements, it is not even known how the technologies are being used in practice.
The report pointed to the limitations of “Technology Sharing,” a leading open-patent program in South Korea. The program currently operates through one-off announcements made once or twice a year and is based on free transfers. Once the announcement period ends, the listings are no longer accessible, and no precedents are established for determining the value of the technologies. Moreover, support ends with the transfer of rights, leaving small and medium-sized enterprises to bear the entire burden of follow-up work, such as further technology development, certification and finding markets.
Technology Sharing continues each year, led by public institutions and large companies. In March this year, POSCO Group held a Technology Sharing event in Yangjae-dong, Seoul, together with the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, transferring a total of 112 patents free of charge to small and medium-sized enterprises. The cumulative number of patents transferred by POSCO Group since 2017 has reached 926. The ministry later issued separate announcements for Samsung Electronics in July and energy public corporations in September, among others, and accepted applications through the National Technology Bank system. As the report points out, the program’s current framework means the list of available patents changes according to the provider and timing of each announcement.

To overcome these limitations, the report examined cases in Japan and China.
After Japan discontinued its state-led Patent Distribution Advisor program in 2010 and shifted to a platform (database)-centered approach, the number of registered open patents plunged by 47%. After recognizing the clear limitations of relying on platforms alone, Japan shifted to an approach centered on local governments. Kawasaki City is a leading example: since 2007, it has operated the “Kawasaki Model,” in which dedicated coordinators provide hands-on support throughout the process, from matching companies and negotiating contracts to product development, financing and finding markets. As of 2018, 20 of 30 cases had successfully reached the product stage.
In 2021, China formally established an “open licensing” system through a revision to its Patent Law. Patent holders can publicly announce royalty rates in advance, after which anyone can pay the fee and use the patent; the system also offers reductions in annual fees. As a result, more than 17,000 licenses had been granted from the launch of the pilot program in May 2022 through the end of 2023. China also combines the legal framework with brokerage and recommendations by dedicated personnel.

To increase patent utilization in South Korea, the Korea Institute of Intellectual Property proposed seven measures: offering incentives for open licensing, such as reductions in annual fees; conducting a comprehensive review of public-sector patents; operating a single, continuously available portal for open-patent listings; assigning specialized intermediaries to regional hubs; disclosing standard contracts and royalty data; providing support linked to commercialization; and managing performance indicators at each stage.
Jeon Seong-tae, a research fellow at the Korea Institute of Intellectual Property, said, “South Korea is among the world’s leaders in patent creation, but the channels connecting those patents with the companies that need them remain narrow. It is urgent to design policies that bring continuous listings, intermediaries, data and commercialization support together in a single system.”

[email protected] Kim Won-jun Reporter