자금조달 목적의 특허신탁 활성화를 위한 법제도 개선방안

Abstract

A Reform Proposal on the Promotion of Patent Trust as an Alternative Form of Financing

The purpose of this Study is to make a reform proposal on the promotion of patent trust as an alternative form of financing. In 2005, the amendment to the Trust Business Act became effective, which allows invisible property rights to be an object of trust business. Thus, the patent right, one of the most important types of invisible property rights, also can be entrusted to the trust companies. A trustee work as a converter of patent rights to asset-backed securities("ABS) or beneficiary rights. Patent holders make money out of the above-mentioned securities or rights. However, patent trust has not been used as a source of financing in Korea. In order to vitalize patent trust as a financing vehicle in Korea, some current laws should be revised to clear the following hurdles. Firstly, the current Asset-Backed Securitization Act puts a restriction on qualifications for an originator. For example, universities or individual inventors in Korea are disqualified to entrust their patents with trust companies for issuing ABS's. Secondly, the Trust Act provides that trustees stand under the duty not to delegate. Since trust companies in Korea primarily concentrate on money trust business, they are not good at evaluating patents. There is no way for the companies to commit the evaluation job to professional patent evaluation companies. Thirdly, patents or its beneficiary rights are not classified into objects of indirect investment under the Indirect Investment Asset Management Business Act. Thus, patent cannot attract attention from investment trust companies.