Korea now ranks seventh in the world in space technology patents after the successful launch of a homegrown rocket and promising launch of a lunar explorer.
The Korean Intellectual Property Office said Monday that Korea obtained 840 space technology patents from 1990 to 2020 to account for four percent of the global total. The U.S. has a distant lead with 6,226 patents, followed by China (4,330), France (3,409), Japan (2,669), Russia (2,084) and Germany (953).
KIPO said, “Patent applications have increased in the process of developing the Naro and Nuri space rockets, but they number only around 70 a year, which is far lower than in advanced countries.”
Korea has a relatively low level of private-sector participation, with the state-run Korea Aerospace Research Institute way ahead at 476 space technology patents compared to private companies’ 89.
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