Passed the revised bill of’Design Protection Act’ to protect image design
Intellectual Property Office “Strengthening our company’s digital design competitiveness”
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In the future, designs in augmented and virtual reality can also be protected as intellectual property.
The Korean Intellectual Property Office announced on the 25th that the’Revision of the Design Protection Act for the Protection of Image Design’ passed the National Assembly on the 24th.
The revised law aims to protect the image design itself by newly establishing the definition of image design. By defining the online transmission of image design itself as a design use act, the concept of use of design, which has been recognized only offline, such as trading in the market, is expanded to the Internet. Image design is a combination of visually recognized shapes or colors, and refers to graphic user interfaces (GUIs), icons, and graphic images.
Under the current Design Protection Act, only designs expressed on actual products could be registered, and image designs projected onto external walls or spaces could not be protected by rights. However, as products using virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) have increased due to the recent spread of the digital economy, the importance of designs implemented with digital technology has increased.
The scale of related industries is also on the rise. According to the Korea Institute of Design Promotion, the economic value of design as of 2018 is 124.3 trillion won, and the economic value of design applied to 18 key industries such as AR, VR and IoT is estimated to be 17.2 trillion won. With this revision of the law, companies can use the protection of image design rights as a means of legal support to advance into overseas markets.
This is because companies usually apply for design rights in Korea first and then apply for the same design in foreign countries. The Korean Intellectual Property Office explained, “This amendment is unique in that it is the first legalization to support the digital economy in the field of intellectual property as well as strengthening the digital design competitiveness of Korean companies.” Mok Seong-ho, director of trademark design examination at the Intellectual Property Office, said, “The competition for preemption of new technologies is becoming more and more fierce due to the recent rapid digital transformation.”
/ Reporter Kim Dong-hyun [email protected]
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