디자인권 보호를 위한 법률시스템의 전략적 선택 -제품디자인을 중심으로-

Recently Korean product design is gaining a positive reputation in the world market. It appears that the persistent government-led design promotion policy and a strong effort toward design management leadership in major corporations have played a significant role in achieving this outcome. However, for robust growth and an enhancement of the quality of design, the design rights should be strenuously protected and the creation of authentic designs must be encouraged in society. In that sense, this study explores how designers can strategically select an appropriate legal system to secure their design rights with particular emphasis on the product design area. First, representative intellectual property rights including design rights, trademark rights, patents and copyrights are analytically juxtaposed with a focus on the product design context. Secondly, a conceptual framework to select a legal system strategically for the protection of design rights is constructed. The proposed conceptual framework will contribute to a rise of awareness of design rights not only in design industries but also in design academia. In addition, it is anticipated that more corporations will place a higher value on design rights as a significant intellectual property such as patents and trademarks and set up s strategic plan for the management of design rights.