Gyeonggi Province Supports Litigation Costs for 13 Companies Facing Intellectual Property Disputes and Technology Theft

[Suwon Ilbo=Park No-hun] Gyeonggi Province has selected 13 companies as the first beneficiaries of its intellectual property litigation cost support program, which will help small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) suffering from technology theft or intellectual property disputes cover legal expenses.

The Gyeonggi Province Intellectual Property Arbitration and Litigation Cost Support Project assists SMEs vulnerable to dispute response due to insufficient funds and personnel by providing up to 20 million won per company to cover litigation expenses in intellectual property disputes, including patent disputes and lawsuits.

The 13 selected companies will receive support for a total of 28 arbitration and litigation cases, including patent invalidation trials. The dispute cases include civil and criminal lawsuits such as patent infringement lawsuits against imported infringing products from China and criminal cases related to internal technology theft.

The selected companies will receive support for legal service costs provided by patent attorneys and other experts related to technology theft, technology leaks, and intellectual property disputes, and will also be eligible for in-depth consultation on related procedures.

Meanwhile, the province has been operating the "Gyeonggi Province Technology Protection Desk" since the second half of last year to support SMEs facing difficulties with technology theft or intellectual property disputes. Since this year, it has relocated to the Gyeonggi Creative Economy Innovation Center in Pangyo Techno Valley in Seongnam, where a dedicated patent attorney is stationed to provide free consultations on a continuous basis.

Choi Byeong-gil, Director of the Science and Technology Division of Gyeonggi Province, said, "The support for intellectual property arbitration and litigation costs has helped reduce the burden on companies," and added, "We will explore various ways to protect core technologies of enterprises."

The second round of recruitment for beneficiary companies under the Gyeonggi Province Intellectual Property Arbitration and Litigation Cost Support Project is scheduled to be announced in November. For inquiries, contact the Gyeonggi Intellectual Property Center (031-776-4891).