LSIS named as global innovator

LSIS CEO Koo Ja-kyun, left, receives a trophy from Woei Fuh Wong, right, an executive from Thomson Reuter’s intellectual property unit at the Korean firm’s headquarters in Anyang, Gyeonggi Province, Tuesday. / Courtesy of LSIS

By Kim Yoo-chul

Three of Korea’s leading companies ― Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics and LSIS ― were named among the top 100 global innovators by Thomson Reuters for a second consecutive year.

The nation’s Korea Electronics Technology Institute (KETI), KAIST, Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology (KRICT) and POSTECH also made the list.

This year’s key criteria was how well companies are prepared for intellectual property-centric strategies.

``As chief executive, I am so honored to see that LSIS was named as one of the top 100 global innovators by Thomson Reuters this year. One impressive point is that LSIS is a major patent holder,’’ said LSIS CEO Koo Ja-kyun in a meeting with Bob Stembridge, manager of customer relations, intellectual property and science business at Thomson Reuters, Tuesday.

``From qualitative aspects, such as the impact of applied patents and the success rate of patent applications, LSIS is a company that contributes to world-class innovation and I hope that many other Korean companies like LSIS will introduce the technological competitiveness of the Asia-Pacific region to the world,’’ Stembridge responded during a meeting with Koo.

The winning formula is based on four principle criteria ― overall patent volume, patent grant success rate, global reach of the portfolio and patent influence as evidenced by citations.

``Since 2008 ― the first year when the current CEO Koo took the top seat ― LSIS has been aggressive to boost our patent portfolios in the company’s next businesses such as parts for electric vehicles and smart-grid projects. Last year, we invested 9 percent only for research and development out of total revenue as part of LSIS’ consistent efforts for patented technologies,’’ said company spokesman Kim Dae-seong.

According to Thomson Reuters, there was a 75 percent increase in representation from Korea in 2012 over the previous years’ entrants.

``The addition of South Korean academic institutions confirms the role government can play in encouraging innovation, as well as the longer-term potential for corporations and academia to collaborate in bringing new ideas to fruition,” said David Brown, managing director of Thomson Reuters Intellectual Property Solutions.