South Korea posted a trade surplus in intellectual property rights (IPRs) in the first half of the year, partly due to trade surplus in copyrights, central bank data showed Wednesday. The country's cross-border IPR trade surplus stood at US$140 million in the January-June period, compared with a surplus of $370 million in the second half of last year and a shortfall of $1.9 million a year earlier, according to the preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). The IPR trade surplus stemmed partly from a narrowed deficit from trade of industrial property rights, including patents, which came to $1.13 billion in the first half. The country posted a surplus of $1.34 billion in copyright trade, including cultural and art content, and software development in the first half of the year. In particular, the country reaped a record trade surplus in cultural and art copyrights at $650 million, according to the data. The country's manufacturing sector posted an IPR trade surplus of $1.66 billion in the first half, while the service sector posted a deficit of $1.62 billion, the data showed. By country, South Korea posted deficits with the United States and Britain of $850 million and $1.74 billion, respectively. With China and Vietnam, the country logged surpluses of $1.25 billion and $910 million, respectively, according to the data. Source: Yonhap News Agency