Patent Office Joins Hands with LG Electronics to Improve Accessibility for People with Disabilities

The Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO, Commissioner Kim Wan-ki) and LG Electronics (CEO Cho Joo-wan) signed a business agreement to improve accessibility for home appliances for the disabled at 11:00 AM on Friday, March 28 at LG Twin Towers (Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul). They also announced that they will begin accepting applications for a national idea contest to improve accessibility for the disabled starting on the 31st.

< Patent Office – LG Electronics ,  Business Agreement for ‘Improving Accessibility of Home Appliances for the Disabled’ >

 The two organizations plan to utilize the Korean Intellectual Property Office’s idea exchange platform ‘Ideaero’ to hold a national idea contest to improve accessibility for the disabled, select excellent ideas and promote advancement and patent applications, and continue cooperation to foster intellectual property talents such as creative inventors.

< Promoting follow-up cooperation for the national idea contest and fostering intellectual property talents >

 Citizens who wish to participate in the contest can access ‘Ideaero’ from March 31 (Mon) to April 28 (Mon) to suggest ideas. Afterwards, the submitted ideas will be evaluated for technical feasibility, problem-solving potential, and originality, and the final excellent work will be selected. LG Electronics will purchase and improve the selected ideas and proceed with patent applications.

 In addition, we plan to strengthen follow-up cooperation for fostering intellectual property talents, such as reviewing the link between the ‘Home Appliance School Project’ (LG Electronics), which supports the proper use of home appliances by slow learners and children with developmental disabilities, and the ‘Mobile Invention Education Center’ (Korean Intellectual Property Office) of the Invention Education Center.

 Mok Sung-ho, Deputy Commissioner of the Korean Intellectual Property Office, said, “This business agreement is meaningful in that it simultaneously promotes inclusiveness and innovation in our society,” and added, “I hope that this will serve as a foundation for discovering practical ideas to improve accessibility for the disabled and, furthermore, establishing a foundation for cooperation to foster intellectual property talent.”

 Meanwhile, more detailed information about the contest can be found on the Idearo website (www.ipmarket.or.kr/idearo/).