To Facilitate Investment in Technology Venture Firms

The Korea Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) will actively support the growth of the IP investment market.

Dowoo Insys, a small company which began supplying glass for Samsung's new foldable phone Galaxy Z Flip, has suffered financial problems for the past 10 years despite its ownership of a core technology. The company holds 17 related patents thanks to its colossal effort for technology development, but its sales have not climbed. However, in the future, Dowoo Insys will be able to secure funds by receiving investment in its intellectual property (IP).

The Korea Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) will actively support the growth of the IP investment market by establishing public offering funds that invest in technology venture firms and selling them to general investors, the office said in its business plan on March 11.

KIPO has decided to support the creation of a new type of IP direct investment funds that suit investors’ preferences, such as public offering IP investment funds set up by private companies and IP crowd funds.

Currently, technology companies can take out bank loans secured by patents, but they will be able to secure funds through investment in patents.

This will enable investors including venture capital (VC) firms to invest directly in technology venture companies’ and startups’ IP. These companies will be able to raise funds directly from the market. Venture capital is expected to increase investment in technology venture companies. In the United States, the IP investment market is growing fast, led by dozens of large IP funds worth US$100 million or more.

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