President Lee calls for protection of intellectual property

By Byun Duk-kun

SEOUL, July 29 (Yonhap) -- President Lee Myung-bak urged stepped-up efforts Wednesday to protect intellectual property rights, saying losses from violations of South Korea's property rights outweigh the gains from illegal use of other countries' rights.

Lee said South Korea, at the same time, should enhance its own intellectual
property in order to offset an average US$4-billion annual deficit, according to
Kim Eun-hye, a spokeswoman for the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae.
"Studies have shown that we are losing more from violations of our intellectual
property rights than illicit gains from violating others' intellectual property,"
the president was quoted as saying at a meeting of the presidential committee on
national competitiveness.
South Korea began enforcing a so-called 'three-strike system' last week under
which an Internet user cited for any violation of intellectual property three
times will have all of his or her Internet accounts suspended for six months.
"We must first protect the intellectual property of others if we are to demand
protection of ours," the Cheong Wa Dae spokeswoman quoted Lee as saying.
"We must also work more actively to secure more intellectual properties, which is
a very important issue for the future of the country," he added.