Identification of Gene-related Korean Patents and Construction of a Database Server for Korean Patent Sequences

With the advent of high-throughput techniques, the number of patent applications containing biological sequences has been increasing rapidly in Korea. However, there is little information on gene relatedness of the Korean patent sequences. The primary aims of this study are two-fold. First, we associated Korean patent applications with genes. Second, we have constructed a database server, named Patome@Korea, to provide the gene-patent map and the Korean patent data containing biological sequences. To associate the sequences with genes, we have received patent sequence data from the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) and annotated them with RefSeq and Entrez Gene. Through the association analysis, we found that nearly 14.7% of human genes were related to Korean patenting, compared to 25% of human genes in the US patent. We have consolidated the association results and the patent sequence data to a relational database and implemented a web-based user interface to provide search service. The database can be queried using application number, applicant, titles, gene ID/name, and RefSeq number. We also provide web-based BLAST facility to allow users to compare their sequences against patent sequences.