[International IP Briefing] KR, US

 

KR

Korean Intellectual Property Office Hosts the “2025 Living Invention Korea” Awards Ceremony

On December 11, 2025, the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) held the “2025 Living Invention Korea” Awards Ceremony.

Now in its 12th year, Living Invention Korea is KIPO’s flagship program supporting women inventors. The initiative aims to discover and support women’s ideas for everyday-life products, thereby contributing to women’s entrepreneurship and job creation. This year, a total of 1,678 ideas were submitted. Through a three-stage evaluation process—including document screening, prior art searches, and feasibility assessments—50 ideas were selected for support. From August 2025, the selected ideas received approximately three months of support, including design advancement, prototype development, intellectual property filing, start-up and commercialization training. Following public participation voting and expert evaluation, 35 final award-winning ideas were selected.

The event was hosted by KIPO and organized by the Korea Women Inventors Association. In the presence of approximately 150 attendees, including intellectual property professionals and members of the public, awards such as the Presidential Award, the Speaker of the National Assembly Award, and the Prime Minister’s Award were presented to outstanding inventions among the 35 finalists.

👏Presidential Award

The Presidential Award was presented to Ms. Choi Seul-gi, a sleep consultant, for her invention, Infant Sleep Induction Device. This product provides step-by-step guidance for parents through sleep-training audio content, allows monitoring of optimal temperature and humidity for sleep, and automatically plays audio when crying is detected to help infants fall asleep independently.

👏 Speaker of the National Assembly Award

The Speaker of the National Assembly Award was awarded to Ms. Oh Jeong-rang, an obstetrics and gynecology nurse, for her invention, Baby Arm Pillow. Featuring a band-type structure and ergonomic design, the product enhances comfort for both infants and caregivers.

👏 Prime Minister’s Award

The Prime Minister’s Award went to Ms. Kim Na-young, a biotechnology researcher, for her invention, Stress Self-Testing Kit. The product received high praise for enabling stress level measurement using saliva and allowing users to manage their results through a dedicated mobile application.

👏 Other Notable Inventions

Other highly evaluated inventions included an Emergency Escape Parking Number Plate equipped with a glass-breaking safety tool for emergencies, a Customized Pillow for Preventing Acid Reflux, and a One-Stop Laundry Basket designed to store laundry hygienically. These ideas were recognized for improving safety and quality of life in everyday living.

A KIPO official stated that the efforts of women inventors to creatively overcome challenges encountered in their daily lives are driving positive change in society, adding that KIPO will continue to actively support the realization of innovative ideas from more women inventors in the future.

 

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US

Clarivate Announces the “Top 100 Global Innovators 2026”

On January 21, 2026, Clarivate Analytics (hereinafter “Clarivate”), a U.S.–UK-based information analytics company, released its report titled Top 100 Global Innovators 2026¹.

Each year, Clarivate analyzes and publishes the Top 100 Global Innovators based on its proprietary patent data.

Overview

Amid the unprecedented pace of advancement in generative artificial intelligence and deep learning, the Top 100 Global Innovators account for 16% of the world’s most advanced AI-related inventions. This finding suggests that leadership in innovation is increasingly driven not by sheer volume, but by qualitative excellence and strategic direction.

Samsung Electronics retained the top position and was named among the Top 100 Global Innovators for the 15th consecutive year. Newly selected companies for the Top 100 Global Innovators 2026 include GE Vernova, ZTE, Subaru, ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT), Aptiv, and Silicon Motion.

Analysis by Country and Region

Among the Top 100 Global Innovators 2026, Japanese companies accounted for 32 entries, followed by U.S. companies with 18, Taiwanese companies with 12, and eight companies each from Germany and South Korea.

Analysis by Industry Sector

Within the Top 100 Global Innovators 2026, the consumer electronics and computing equipment sector continued to lead, accounting for 27% of all selected companies. The number of semiconductor companies increased by two, while the energy and electrical sector saw an increase of three companies. In contrast, the industrial systems sector experienced the largest decline, with three fewer companies compared to the previous year.

Top 100 Global Innovators 2026

¹ Rankings are determined through comparative analysis of global patent data from Clarivate’s proprietary database, the Derwent World Patents Index (DWPI). The evaluation is based on the Derwent Strength Index, which scores inventions using key factors such as influence, investment, success, and rarity.

 

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Constructing a Building in Just Four Days: 3D Printers and the Construction Industry

Would you believe that a fully functional office building can be completed in as little as four days? In practice, the entire process—from erecting the structural frame to installing facilities and completing construction—reportedly took less than a week. Such speed was made possible by the application of 3D printing technology in construction.

By inputting a three-dimensional digital model of the office into a 3D printer, the structure was fabricated directly from the design data. As similar cases continue to emerge, 3D printing is increasingly being recognized as a transformative technology within the construction industry. In this article, we examine key patent-based technologies related to 3D printers and their application to construction

Overview of 3D Printing Technology

3D printing refers to a manufacturing technology that produces physical objects through additive processes. Unlike conventional printers that output text or images onto paper, 3D printers use three-dimensional modeling files as input and fabricate solid objects by stacking material layer by layer.

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3D Printer

The applicability of 3D printing extends far beyond construction, encompassing sectors such as medical devices, aerospace, and defense. One of its most notable advantages lies in operational efficiency: a single device can manufacture various products simply by changing the input file, while reducing material waste and simplifying production steps. In fact, the aforementioned office building was reportedly completed by just two operators, highlighting the labor-saving potential of this technology.

At the most fundamental level, a typical 3D printing system employs a DLP-based method within a 3D CAD environment. Using photo-curable resin, the printer converts digital 3D modeling data into a physical structure with high precision.

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KR10-2024-0131512, 3D Printer

3D Printers as a New Paradigm in Construction

The most significant strength of 3D printers is their ability to accurately reproduce complex and customized geometries as intended by the designer. This capability makes the technology particularly suitable for the design and construction sectors, where structural form and precision are critical. As a result, various 3D printing technologies tailored specifically for construction have been developed.

One representative example is a construction-oriented 3D printer designed to ensure the uniform mixing and application of mortar—an essential material in building processes. By integrating a mixing module into the printer’s X- and Y-axis frames, the supplied mortar is evenly blended and deposited in consistent layers. This approach improves the structural integrity and overall safety of the constructed building.

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KR10-2024-0039271, 3D Printer for construction

Another notable technology is a three-dimensional printer specialized for concrete processing. This system sprays concrete through a 3D printing mechanism and simultaneously processes its surface to produce concrete components that serve as the structural framework of buildings.

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KR10-2024-0085893, 3D Printer for concrete

The printer is composed of a housing unit, a concrete processing and discharge unit, and a control unit that precisely manages the printing process based on digital 3D models. A key technical feature is its ability to perform post-processing operations—such as cutting and surface finishing—immediately after high-precision concrete deposition, thereby enhancing both dimensional accuracy and surface quality.

 From Digital Data to Physical Structures

3D printing can be regarded as a core technology that transforms digital designs into tangible structures. As global construction industries face mounting challenges from rising material costs and labor shortages, the adoption of 3D printing technologies presents a viable alternative to conventional construction methods. Continued technological development and patent-driven innovation in this field may ultimately position 3D printing as a foundational driver for the next generation of the construction industry.

 

From Discarded Soil to a Treasure of the Sea: The Remarkable Transformation of Mud

In Korea, every year from July to August, the Boryeong Mud Festival is held in Boryeong, Chungcheongnam-do. As the vacation season begins, it is one of the festivals that people simply cannot miss. The sight of foreign visitors flocking to the festival to experience Korea’s tidal flat culture is so iconic that it is even mentioned in textbooks.

Tidal Flats? NO, NO — Now It’s Mud!

In the past, tidal flats were often regarded as “useless land where your feet just sink,” or as “ambiguous areas with no clear purpose.” As a result, they were frequently targeted for large-scale reclamation and land-filling projects, gradually disappearing over time.

However, since the 21st century, tidal flats have reached a major turning point as they came to be recognized as ecological treasure troves that support diverse forms of life.

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 patent analysis for utilizing mud

In particular, as research has revealed that various components contained in tidal flat mud are highly beneficial to human health, its economic value has also continued to grow. Today, tidal flats can be regarded as natural resources that attract attention not only for their ecological importance but also for their industrial potential.

In this article, we take a closer look at this dramatic transformation of mud by examining various technologies that make use of it.

 Better Than Clay Beds: Mud Beds

At one time in Korea, clay beds gained significant popularity due to their perceived health benefits. This trend was rooted in structures based on the principles of traditional ondol heating systems. Clay panels heated by electric coils would slowly release heat as they cooled, much like ondol, and during this process, far-infrared radiation stored in the clay was gradually emitted and transmitted to the body, which was believed to promote health.

Mud, in fact, has much finer particles than ordinary clay, allowing it to retain heat for longer periods and emit even higher levels of far-infrared radiation. This makes mud an excellent potential material for clay beds. However, since most mud is collected from tidal flats, it often contains salt and various impurities, making it difficult to obtain mud panels of sufficiently pure quality.

To address this challenge, Boryeong City—well known for its high-quality mud resources—and a research team from Chungwoon University focused on removing impurities from mud as thoroughly as possible to produce high-purity mud panels. After years of effort, they developed the following manufacturing method.

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KR10-2013-0011454, Mud panel and it's manufacture method

First, the mud is washed several times with fresh water to remove as much salt as possible and increase its purity. Next, crushers and sieves are used to physically filter out various impurities, yielding refined mud. The refined mud is then placed in a large container together with fresh water.

The reason for mixing the refined mud again with fresh water is to extract mud composed of only pure components. When the mud mixture is left to stand for an extended period, differences in density cause the fresh water and mud to separate naturally. At this stage, the denser mud settles at the bottom of the container through sedimentation. By extracting only this settled mud, impurities and coarse particles are effectively removed, allowing highly pure mud to be obtained. This step is considered the most critical part of the entire process.

The high-purity mud extracted through this process is then combined with natural materials, shaped together with jute fabric, and coated to form panels. These finished mud panels offer excellent thermal insulation and can be used as building finishing materials, but they are most commonly utilized as the base mattress for mud beds.

Mud Extract Cosmetics

Mud is rich in minerals and other components that are beneficial to the skin, making it a material capable of delivering various effects such as skin care, removal of impurities, and moisture regulation. For these reasons, mineral-rich mud is now widely used as a natural additive in many cosmetic products.

Building on this trend, Boryeong—known for its vast tidal flats and superior mud quality—has long pursued independent research and development, not only on extraction methods for Boryeong mud extract but also on technologies for producing whitening cosmetics using these extracts.

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KR10-2010-0090533, Method of extracting for sea silt extract and whitening functional cosmetic composition containing the extract

This patent covers a technology for manufacturing whitening functional cosmetics using mud extracts and is the result of joint research by Boryeong City and Chungwoon University. Notably, this patent consists solely of claim descriptions without separate drawings. According to the specification, the process requires repeating the mixing of mud with purified water at least five times, while strictly maintaining precise weight ratios at each stage, in order to obtain an extract of sufficient quality for cosmetic use. This level of detail helps explain why the technology is far from simple.

Healing Mud Powered by the Sea

Amid the growing popularity of wellness, one emerging field attracting attention is marine healing. Marine healing refers to activities that promote physical and mental health by utilizing various marine natural resources, such as tidal flats, seawater, seaweed, and marine climates. As a peninsula surrounded by the sea on three sides, Korea is exceptionally well suited to marine healing.

Among the many marine resources used for marine healing, mud stands out as one of the most representative. Naturally rich in minerals and various active components, mud has gained attention as a material that supports both health and beauty, offering benefits such as skin soothing, detoxification, and moisturization. However, mud collected directly from nature may contain heavy metals or harmful microorganisms. Therefore, it must undergo purification and be processed into a clean, impurity-free form to ensure safe use.

In response to this need, the Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology developed a manufacturing process for producing high-quality mud suitable for marine healing and filed it as a patent.

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KR10-2529986, Marine healing mud and manufacturing method thereof

The core of this technology lies in a purification method using a sedimentation tank. This process makes it possible to efficiently separate and extract high-purity mud with ultra-fine particles smaller than 50 μm (micrometers)—something that was difficult to achieve with conventional methods. The purified mud can then be dried or reprocessed into powder form, making it suitable not only for marine healing applications but also as a raw material for functional cosmetics, demonstrating its versatility across multiple fields.

We have now explored various technologies related to mud, which has transformed from discarded soil into a valuable treasure of the sea. The Boryeong Mud Festival is truly an unmissable summer event in Korea. Why not experience it for yourself someday?

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Mud festival