지식재산 기본법의 평가 및 발전과제

Intellectual Property Basic Law : Its Evaluation and Challenges

The enactment of Intellectual Property Basic Law(hereinafter 'Law'), as implemented on 2011. 7. 20, is a symbolic event representing implementation of comprehensive policies on intellectual property in Korea. Prior to the Law, there has been limited coordination among different governmental agencies and local governments in pursuing their intellectual property related policies and regulations. As intellectual property has become a subject of national strategic plan, the Law now declares that the Government build a national system for effectively creating, protecting, and utilizing intellectual property under common spirits and principles on intellectual property. As a tool for achieving the purpose of the Law, the Law obliges the Government to implement 'Intellectual Property Basic Plan', a pan-government intellectual property policy plan. As is often the case with the laws entitled 'basic law', however, the Law does not have a statutory legal effect of being applied over other laws. Although the Law can be logically placed above other laws in the field of intellectual property, no such higher effect is recognized under legal hierarchy or the Constitution. Therefore, effective implementation of the Law is highly dependent upon a firm and substantial operation of 'Council on Intellectual Property'(hereinafter 'Council'). Since the Council is advisory in nature, its influence on policies or budgetary programs would be limited. To overcome those constraints would be challenges for the Council.