국내 Non-Fungible Token 특허 동향 네트워크 분석:디지털 자산 기술의 진화를 중심으로

초록

This study investigates the evolutionary trajectory of the NFT (Non-Fungible Token) technology domain using Korean patent data from KIPRIS covering 2016-2025. The analysis divides the dataset into three periods (2016-2018, 2019-2021, and 2022-2025) and, after preprocessing patent texts, applies frequency analysis, TF-IDF, and networks with centrality. The results show that an infrastructure core—centered on blockchain, users, transactions, services, and servers—persists across all periods; platform- and operations-related elements become more salient in the middle period; and explicit references to “NFT” alongside issuance and value-related elements rise in the late period. From a network perspective, the domain shifts from dense early-stage coupling toward more selective recombination, while the late period exhibits modularization characterized by stronger within-cluster cohesion and the growing importance of inter-cluster mediating elements. Interpreted through a strategic management perspective, the infrastructure core tends to converge into a red ocean of intensified competition, whereas white spaces are more likely to emerge in novel technology combinations and mediating elements that connect sub-technology clusters; accordingly, this study provides empirical evidence to inform R&D prioritization and business model innovation.

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