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What is the Industrial Property Rights System?
Explanation of Protected Rights and Utilization Methods

Industrial property rights are an important system for protecting new technologies, designs, logos, and more. By preventing imitation and securing exclusive usage rights, they enhance the competitiveness of companies and individuals. This article provides a detailed explanation of the types of industrial property rights and specific ways to utilize them.

What is the Industrial Property Rights System?
Industrial property rights are a part of intellectual property rights and refer to four types of rights: patent rights, utility model rights, design rights, and trademark rights. They protect important creations in industries such as new technologies, designs, names, and logos.

By obtaining these rights, you can exclusively use new technologies and designs for a certain period. This not only protects the interests of creators by preventing imitation and unauthorized use but also plays a role in encouraging research and development. Additionally, the protection of names and logos through trademark rights contributes to maintaining the credibility of companies and products.

Types of Industrial Property Rights

Patent Rights
Patent rights protect new and advanced inventions that utilize natural laws. They play an important role in promoting technological innovation and supporting industrial development.

Subject: New technologies and methods
Example: Inventions related to high-speed communication technology and mobile phone communication methods

Utility Model Rights
Utility model rights protect ideas related to the shape, structure, or combination of articles. Although they do not require the same level of technical sophistication as patents, they target ideas with excellent practicality.

Subject: Innovations in shape or structure
Example: The shape of a smartphone cover that can be attached to a belt

Design Rights
Design rights protect designs that are original and aesthetically pleasing. They target the appearance design of products and contribute to enhancing product value and differentiation.

Subject: Designs of shapes, patterns, colors, etc., of articles
Example: The design of a smartphone with beautifully curved surfaces that are easy to hold

Trademark Rights
Trademark rights protect marks used to distinguish goods or services from others. They play a role in protecting the brand image of companies and maintaining consumer trust.

Subject: Marks such as letters, figures, symbols, etc.
Example: Logos or marks used by a smartphone manufacturer to identify its products

Utilization Methods of Industrial Property Rights
Industrial property rights (patent rights, utility model rights, design rights, trademark rights) are widely used to protect the creative achievements of companies and individuals and to enhance competitiveness. Here are specific utilization methods and examples:

Exclusive Use for Own Products and Services
By obtaining industrial property rights, you can prevent other companies from imitating new technologies, designs, names, logos, etc., and exclusively use them for your own products and services. This allows you to differentiate and secure a competitive advantage.

For example, they can be utilized as follows:
– Patent Rights: An automobile manufacturer obtains a patent for a new technology that improves fuel efficiency and introduces it to the market as a unique eco-car.

– Design Rights: An electronics manufacturer protects the design of a stylish and unique smart refrigerator and sells it as a high-end product.

– Trademark Rights: A cosmetics brand registers the logo of its products as a trademark, giving consumers a sense of trust and eliminating counterfeit products.

Transfer of Rights to Others (Sale or Assignment)
By selling or transferring rights related to unnecessary technologies, designs, or brands, you can raise funds and optimize management resources.
For example, they can be utilized as follows:

A medical device manufacturer sells a patented technology it developed to another company and uses the funds obtained for research and development of next-generation products.
A venture company transfers the trademark rights of a brand logo it nurtured to a major company, allowing them to utilize the brand value.

Licensing Rights to Others
By licensing industrial property rights to third parties, you can earn royalty income. This method is effective as a means of generating profits even if you do not directly commercialize the product yourself.

For example, they can be utilized as follows:
-A university licenses a patented technology obtained through research to a pharmaceutical company, contributing to the development of new drugs.
-A design company licenses the design rights of an original furniture design to a manufacturer that mass-produces it, sharing the profits.
-A small food manufacturer licenses its registered trademark to another company, earning licensing income through the brand’s strength.

Strategic Utilization by Keeping Know-How Confidential
Considering the nature of patent application disclosures, there is also the option of keeping some technologies and manufacturing know-how confidential without filing for patents. This is an effective means of maintaining competitiveness while avoiding imitation.

For example, they can be utilized as follows:
– A beverage manufacturer manages its unique recipe as a company secret without patenting it (e.g., the formula for cola).
– An industrial parts manufacturer does not disclose technical information related to specific processes, preventing competitors from imitating them.

Conclusion
As mentioned above,there are four types of industrial property rights. By protecting creative achievements, they promote industrial development. They can be utilized in various ways, such as exclusive use of new technologies and designs, transfer or assignment of rights, and licensing.
On the other hand, considering the disclosure nature of patents, it is also effective to adopt a confidentiality strategy for some know-how. Appropriate acquisition and operation of rights are key to long-term competitiveness. For details on the utilization and challenges of rights, it is recommended to consult with specialized institutions.

For inquiries about the use of the industrial property rights, please contact SK IP Law Firm.