ST HELIER, Jersey, May 12, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- The world's leading intellectual property (IP) management company, CPA Global (http://www.cpaglobal.com), today underlined its commitment to the Korean market and to helping Korean companies protect their valuable IP assets with the opening of a new office in Seoul. The Seoul office, the company's first in Korea, will be led by Steve Kim, CPA Global's Director for Korea and a former Senior Corporate Counsel for Samsung.

CPA Global has been helping clients around the world manage and optimise the value of their IP portfolios for more than 40 years. As the world's most trusted provider of IP management services, CPA Global is responsible for 60% of the global patent and trademark renewals, and includes amongst its clients leading international law firms and major corporations such as Microsoft, Canon and United Technologies Corporation. CPA Global has had local agent representation in the Korean market for over 15 years, but is now establishing a direct presence and expanding its agent network in response to increasing demand for the company's services.

Korea is the fifth largest international (PCT) patent filer in the world. In 2010, international patent applications from Korean companies increased by over 20%, the second highest increase in filings after China.

Speaking in Seoul today, CPA Global's Chief Executive Officer, Peter Sewell, said: "Korea is an important global market with many Korean corporations now operating on the world stage. Korean companies are increasingly developing their own IP, and the need to protect and manage those valuable assets internationally has never been more critical. This has brought a growing demand for specialist support in IP portfolio management. Responding to that demand, we are reinforcing our commitment to the Korean market by expanding our local agent network and establishing a CPA Global office in Seoul with a dedicated Korean team, offering local customer support."

Commenting on CPA Global's business plans for the Korean market, Steve Kim said CPA Global is adopting a dual strategy, working directly with corporations that generate and own their IP; and also indirectly through agents (typically local IP attorney or IP management firms) to provide the firm and/or its clients with IP management services and solutions.

"Through this dual strategy we aim to provide major corporations as well as small-medium sized enterprises in Korea either directly or through agents with top quality international IP management services to help them gain maximum value and competitive advantage from their IP assets," he said.

CPA Global brings to Korea a comprehensive range of portfolio management services across the entire IP lifecycle; as well as IP management software, through three market-leading solutions: Memotech, for corporate clients; Inprotech, for law firm clients; and FoundationIP, a hosted solution for managing IP portfolios in corporations and law firms. In addition, the company has recently launched CPA Global Discover(SM), a sophisticated patent search platform, which puts international patent databases at the fingertips of clients and delivers the most reliable and relevant results in the market.

CPA Global is also a leading player in the fast growing legal services outsourcing (LSO) sector, providing high quality and cost-efficient legal support services through delivery centres in the US and India. Services include document review, transaction support, contract solutions, and legal research.

About CPA Global

CPA Global is the world's top intellectual property (IP) management specialist, and a leading provider of legal services outsourcing (LSO). CPA Global supports many of the world's best known corporations and law firms with a range of IP and broader legal services, helping them to manage risk, cost and capacity, and realise greater value for their businesses and their IP assets.

CPA Global helps its clients manage their valuable IP Rights, such as patents, designs and trademarks, ensuring that IP portfolios are protected, maintained and regularly reviewed in order to maximise value. Services include search, filing and renewals for patents and trademarks; trademark watching; portfolio valuation and optimisation; as well as IP management software.

Founded in Jersey, Channel Islands in 1969, CPA Global today employs more than 1,500 people, serving clients' needs in over 100 countries. CPA Global has offices in major international locations, including the UK, France, Germany, the USA, Australia, India, Hong Kong, and Korea; with strategic partnerships in these and other important markets, including Japan.

CPA Global's diverse client list ranges from major global corporations, headquartered in Europe, North America and Asia Pacific, to small and medium-sized enterprises and innovation start-ups; and from top international law firms to national and regional law and IP firms. Clients include leading Fortune 500 and FTSE companies, and two-thirds of the Global Lawyer 100.

For further information visit: http://www.cpaglobal.com or contact:

    
    Media Contacts

    United Kingdom: Steve Clark, +44(0)20-7549-5504, sclark@cpaglobal.com
             Victoria Knowles, +44(0)20-7549-4585, vknowles@cpaglobal.com

    United States: Julie Mandell, +1-571-227-7025, jmandell@cpaglobal.com

SOURCE CPA Global