By Diplomacy Journal Lee Jon-young

Cooperation between Korea and Spain in the field of intellectual property, including policies to support SMEs, will be accelerated. The outcome of the meeting will also be used to renew the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on comprehensive cooperation in the field of intellectual property.

Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) Commissioner Kim Wan-ki held a bilateral meeting with Elisa Rodríguez Ortiz, head of the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office (SPTO), in Madrid, Spain, on March 6 to exchange views on major issues in the field of intellectual property between the two countries and discuss ways to cooperate.

The two offices recognized the importance of supporting SMEs in the field of intellectual property, and decided to actively share policy experiences and know-how related to supporting SMEs, such as R&D with patents, which uses patent big data to provide R&D directions to SMEs, and IP finance, which finances commercialization of SMEs.

In addition, the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office will actively cooperate in the development of 'IP Panorama 2.0', a global IP learning content in Spanish, and propose to hold a presentation event at the Ibero-America Industrial Property Program meeting scheduled to be held in Madrid, Spain in 2026.

Based on the results of the meeting, the two offices also decided to revise the MOU on Comprehensive Cooperation signed in 2011 to reflect the changes in the intellectual property environment and to expand the areas of cooperation, including support for SMEs, including IP finance.

“It is significant that we have decided to expand our cooperation to strengthen the IP capabilities of SMEs at the first meeting of the Korean and Spanish Commissioners in 12 years,” said Kim Wan-ki, KIPO Commissioner. ”We will further strengthen cooperation in the field of intellectual property with Spain, which is the best partner for Korean companies to expand into Latin American countries.”