One consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic in Korea seems to have been a sharp rise in recent patent filings related to COVID-19 diagnostic technologies. According to the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO), at least 40 patent applications covering COVID-19 diagnostic technologies were filed in the first half of this year. This is a significantly higher number of filings compared to Korean patent filings related to SARS (19 filings since 2002) and MERS (32 filings since 2013). This rapid pace of filings is likely due to various factors, including skyrocketing global demand for diagnostic kits, the recent acclaim paid to the "K-quarantine Model," as well as the Korean government's proactive measures to expedite regulatory approval processes while still complying with international standards, resulting in increased R&D related to COVID-19.

KIPO has announced that it intends to support efforts to improve and accelerate diagnosis of COVID-19 by reviewing patent applications related to the diagnosis of COVID-19 on an expedited basis, considering the importance of rapid diagnosis in preventing further spread of an infection. Further, as a part of a coordinated effort between the public and private sectors to engage in COVID-19-related R&D, KIPO has taken steps to encourage IP-driven innovations by providing patent and research trend information regarding therapeutics, vaccines, and quarantine products/equipment on its website (at https://www.kipo.go.kr/ncov/index_e.html).

The COVID-19 diagnostic technologies described in the 40 patent applications filed in Korea this year comprise molecular diagnostic technologies (22 applications) and immunological diagnostic technologies (18 applications). The former concern methods of amplifying and detecting the genetic material of Sars-Cov-2 through various techniques, including real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), real-time isothermal amplification, biomarker diagnostics, and even CRISPR technology, whereas the latter cover methods of detecting a viral antigen from the Sars-Cov-2 or anti-viral human antibody in a collected sample.

The applications have been filed by all types of entities, including corporations (17), universities (12), governmental agencies or government-funded research institutes (6), and individuals (5). 10 out of the 40 applications were funded as part of government R&D projects.

The first patent filed on COVID-19 diagnostic technology – filed in February by South Korea's Armed Forces Medical Command – covers the use of a reverse transcription loop isothermal amplification method capable of reducing the diagnosis time to less than an hour. KIPO examined this application on an expedited basis, and granted the patent on April 20, 2020, just two months after it was filed. This diagnostic technology was then quickly licensed to multiple companies, followed by other diagnostic patents quickly being granted and licensed to the private sector. These developments indicate that KIPO is serious about playing an important role in driving innovations to assist in the global fight against COVID-19.