On May 29, the Technology Commercialization Center held a seminar titled “The Patent Story” at 2 p.m. in Terman Hall of the Creative Learning Building (E11). Hosted by the Patent Court of Korea and organized by KAIST Office of University Industry Cooperation, the seminar invited two speakers who are renowned for their expertise in the formulation, implementation, application, and registration of patents.
It is not uncommon to see scientists and engineers leave their innovative and trail-blazing ideas unprotected because of the lack of necessary patent information. This may be due to several reasons; for one, the innovator, may not know which specifications to include when applying for a patent; for another, the patented person might not know how to protect his or her patent from lawsuits.
As a word of introduction to some 250 seminar attendees, Gwang-Guk Bae, Chief Judge at Division 1 of the Patent Court of Korea, said, “The future economy greatly depends on scientific and technological advancements; as such, KAIST is the cradle of scientists who will represent the nation.” He emphasized that it is important to not only conduct meaningful research, but also legally protect research findings so that they will constitute as valuable assets to the country.
The first hour of the two-hour seminar was a talk from Taek Su Jung, a judge at the Patent Court of Korea. Judge Jung shared his knowledge and experience on what good patents are and what makes them beneficial from his viewpoint as a legal practitioner. He also encouraged various routes of possible careers, including technology-specializing advocates and politicians, so that more engineers across wider fields can lead the society.
The second hour was a realistic advisory talk session from Technical Examiner Byung Cheol Lee on how to make good patents, followed by a series of questions from the audience. From the number of questions raised, the seminar seemed to be very helpful to aspiring innovators, and the Patent Court of Korea is planning to hold more similar seminars in the future.