The Ministry of Intellectual Property on Feb. 24 announced 56,458 applications for intellectual property rights were filed last month. Shown is a demonstration on Jan. 29 of a remote-controlled tower crane in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi-do Province. (Hyundai Motor Group)

By Margareth Theresia

The number of applications for intellectual property rights (IPR) last month reached a record high for January.

The Ministry of Intellectual Property on Feb. 24 reported 56,458 such applications were filed last month, up 39% from 40,679 year on year.

By type, the number of domestic IPR applications, a pivotal driver in the global race for technological hegemony, surged 45.2% from 16,092 to 23,365 over the cited period. Trademark applications continued their surge by jumping 39.5% to 28,085, while design applications grew 10.9% to 4,773 and utility model applications 50.6% to 235.

The biggest trend was the steep growth driven by a shift in such applications toward individuals and small and medium enterprises (SME). Individual IPR applications last month reached a January-record 5,478, up from 5,067 in the previous month and over triple the figure of 1,766 year on year.

That of applications from SMEs reached 5,758, up nearly 50% from 3,850 in the same month last year.

Such growth indicated accelerated innovation centered on the private sector and SME capital that moved away from the technological accumulation pattern led by corporations.

The ministry said individual IPR applications grew because of the rise of one-person startups focused on information and communications technology and information service due to the spread of artificial intelligence such as ChatGPT.

margareth@korea.kr