Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that engage in intellectual property (IP) activities such as filing patents and trademarks have a 1.36 times higher chance of achieving high growth, defined as an annual revenue increase of over 20% for three years, compared to those that do not. The Korea Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) and the National Intellectual Property Committee jointly released a report titled ‘High-Growth SMEs and Intellectual Property,’ conducted by the Korea Institute of Intellectual Property and the Korea Development Institute (KDI).
The study analyzed management information and patent, trademark, and design application data from 218,127 SMEs between 2009 and 2023 to empirically examine the impact of IP activities on SME growth. The information and communication industry showed the highest growth potential at 2.69 times, while the manufacturing sector, which has the most SMEs, showed a 1.39 times increase.
SMEs that filed all three types of IP—patents, trademarks, and designs—had a 2.06 times higher chance of high growth. In contrast, SMEs that filed only one type of IP saw their high growth potential increase by just 1.31 times.
SMEs that engaged in IP activities domestically had a 1.28 times higher chance of high growth, while those that also filed IP internationally saw their high growth potential increase to 1.8 times. Lee Kwang-hyung, the private co-chair of the National Intellectual Property Committee, emphasized the need to expand tailored IP support to enhance the global competitiveness of SMEs.