Korean Gov't to Provide Support for Brand K certification
Exports of South Korea’s walk-through booths for COVID-19 testing are expected to be facilitated by the government’s Brand K certification program.
The Korean Intellectual Property Office held a meeting on April 13 with those who invented the equipment. The meeting was to discuss how the rights of the invention have been protected, how the export of the invention has proceeded, and what to do next.
At the meeting, the inventors requested more partnership with companies capable of producing the equipment and more assistance for export. The office is planning to meet their requests by working with the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the Ministry of SMEs and Startups and providing financial support along with the certification program.
At present, Korea Kiyon is producing approximately 100 walk-through booths a week while discussing exports of the product with about 50 countries. The company requested the office to shorten the patent examination procedure, which takes seven months in most cases, to two months by preferential examination. The inventors including the company reached a consensus that their invention needs to be shared for the public good, rather than being monopolized, with COVID-19 still spreading.