When small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) engage in intellectual property (IP) activities such as patent and trademark applications, their likelihood of high growth, defined as an average annual sales increase of over 20% over three years, is 1.36 times higher than SMEs that do not engage in such activities. The Intellectual Property Office and the National Intellectual Property Committee jointly released a research 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 assess the impact of IP activities on SME growth. It found that the information and communication industry had the highest growth potential at 2.69 times, while the manufacturing industry, which has the most SMEs, had a growth potential of 1.39 times.
SMEs that applied for all three types of IP—patents, trademarks, and designs—saw their high growth potential increase to 2.06 times. In contrast, SMEs that applied for only one type of IP saw their growth potential increase by just 1.31 times.
SMEs that engaged in overseas IP applications also showed higher growth potential. Those that applied for IP domestically had a 1.28 times higher growth potential, while those that also applied overseas saw their potential increase to 1.8 times. Lee Kwang-hyung, the private co-chair of the National Intellectual Property Committee, emphasized the significant impact of IP activities on SME growth, and Kim Yong-sun, the head of the Intellectual Property Office, stated that they would strengthen IP consulting to enhance the sustainable growth and high growth potential of SMEs.