WTO 體制下의 知的財産權協定과 韓國의 對應方案

Abstract

The competition of technological development among nations are becoming severe and arousing interests in technology to determine international competitiveness of industries. Especially as the importance of developing nations in international trade increase, there is a movement in strengthening international protection to guarantee continuous profit of one's own country along with strengthening the position of advanced nations claiming that economic development of developing nations have derived from deadheading of technology and science accumulated in advanced nations including the United States. Primary factor of controversy have been resulted due to many cases in abusing or imitating technologies of advanced nations instead of investing in inhouse technological development or new technological development in the process of carrying out economic development in korea. And the actual circumstances are that although sales seemed to increase in prosperous conditions, many corporations that have attached itself to immediate profit and neglected self technological development instead of promoting national competitiveness or corporate image are going bankrupt as economic crisic drew near. Advanced nations including the United States, in order to dominate international market with their own technological power, protect intellectual property rights by law and request high royalty or institute law suits against countries or corporations that abuse or peculate their technologies. Also international trade organization started in full-scale from January 1st of 1995 after the successful conclusion of the Uruguay Round of GATT that have been unfolded slowly for 8 years since 1998. The commencement of WTO structure has a great historical significance because widespread freedom of trade in international society was attained and a strong international structure observing violation of free trade regulation was born. WTO structure strongly regulates commodities of international trade that infringe intellectual property rights of other countries. Therefore to satisfy these international flow and trend, large effort of freeing oneself from a position relying on technology of advanced nations, and the insurance of new technological development and competitiveness with future oriented vision is desperately needed. Observation of problems and present conditions of korea intellectual property rights system and improvement plan in these situations are as following. First, the understanding of intellectual property rights and investment in technological development are insufficient. korea, in the past technological development process, couldn't overcome laggardliness of manufacturing process using cheap labor by inducting technologies of advanced nations to achieve short term profit rather than long term judgement of R&D investments or technological developments, and considerable amount from sales are being paid to foreign corporations of technologically advanced nations that protect intelltctual property rights by law to obtain large profit for their own country requesting high amount of royalties in order to use these technologies. Increase in manufacturing cost because of royalties included in sales are the leading factor in losing competitiveness in the international market. Second, there is insufficient professional manpower that can adequately confront and solve these controversial occurrence related to intellectual property rights. Conception of nations wealth are in a trend where modern society is influenced by technology supported with advanced technologies and economic strength rather than natural resources or manufacturing factors in the past society. Technologically advanced nations, to prevent their own profit diminution by foreign corporations and competing countries from imitating and abusing their intellectual property rights which have been developed through large amounts of investment and manpower, have established protective measures and laws to protect these which have resulted in their predominant position in competition. But, because of reasons for having insufficient professional manpower with the ability to counter sue or evasively plan to solve problems in cases of patent dispute or law suit by foreign corporations, there are many cases of having to pay high costs and royalties where as examples of Japanese tactics or methods in resolving these disputes with relatively low cost should be followed. Third, there are many difficulties in smooth political cooperations and controls because the affairs of government departments managing intellectual property rights are partitioned. Because the information related to intellectual property rights are very complicated and need professional knowledge, disputes and protection related to intellectual property rights in the fast changing international society can be attained through the unification of partitioned government departments. Forth, there needs to be an enlarged operation of exclusive departments under the government institution, upbringing of professionals with realistic understanding relationship of exclusive departments of private corporations. Currently, korea corporations lack knowledge in foreign intellectual property rights protection systems resulting in large amount of losses. Therefore, there needs to be a development of intimate relationship that can accomplish a supportive role between political decisions do the government and consultative decisions of the private part through operation of exclusive departments and sharing related informations to guarantee industrial property rights protection and profit of individual corporations. Fifth, compliance of international agreement in the enforcement concerning regulations and improvement related to domestic intellectual property rights is inevitable because of strengthening protective measures related to intellectual property rights internationally. Therefore there is a need to promote negotiations with advanced nations such as the United States through intensive researches of international regulations. Efforts can be made to effectively applicate international organizations that are publically recognized as methods to promote negotiations. Although the influence of advanced nations are strong through the convention of GATT structure to WTO structure, now is about the time to reevaluate the customary practice of resolving law suits related to intellectual property rights in the United States by strengthening dispute settlement process. Therefore in the occurrence of disputes related to intellectual property rights, finding effective application methods of these systematic tools can be a countermeasure. There needs to be researches to find methods to harmonize good understanding of international laws and domestic laws of foreign nations. Sixth, there is a need to dodge mistake of giving in too easily to unilateral American influence as a factor we have to overcome and reconsider in the occurrence of disputes or in the process of negotiations, as we have experienced in trade conflicts and reciprocal negotiations which started in the 80's. inferiority of national strength during bilateral negotiations is natural, but there needs to be a wisdom to sufficiently reconsider ripple effects of the future in deciding conciliation contents of negotiations. Recognition of retroactive protection concerning intellectual property rights including patent rights of the United States in the 1986 negotiation with the United States was not just simply a concession to the United States by generously giving handicaps of our fundamental domestic laws, but resulted in providing a delicacy for Japan and European Union which we eventually had to yield to their retroactive protection requests. We can cleary see and need to worry about the short sightedness of the government readiness in the period of open economy. Therefore we have to display wisdom in considering various possibilities and countermeasures in the process of foreign negotiations and commercial agreement in the near future. Seventh, judgement system related to commercial application rights permission of korean patent laws are greatly helpful in application of practical or improved inventions, but results in unilateral abusement of one's invention in cases for patent of basic inventions. These are only paid a certain amount of usage fee, which puts oneself in competitively disadvantageous position against patent owner of improved inventions. Finding measures to party own reciprocal usage permission to jointly own practical and improved inventions for basic invention patent owners can be through to inspire personal invention motivation and originally. We have observed problems, countermeasures and protection system of intellectual property rights. The trend of strengthening protection of intellectual property rights is used as a method of solving deficits in the balance of trade and to protect one's national industries for advanced nations such as the United States, and countries or corporations without advanced technology or independent technology have to pay large amounts of manufacturing cost as royalties, becoming a economic dependent country. Because of these reason, corporations needs to continuously invest in technological developments or R&D to make good profit by using monopolistic rights, and the government need to continuously improve and adjust countermeasures and laws concerning intellectual property rights through unification of departments to go side with each other which will finally result in positive development of their country and in becoming an economically powerful nation.