Survey of Intellectual Property Rights in the Ergonomics Field in Korea

Objective: The purpose of this study was to analyze the trend of ergonomics field in overall intellectual property rights in Korea, and suggest the direction for the future development. Background: Many ergonomists are trying to pursue optimal human well-being and safety, and create more convenient designs for human use. For these reasons, intellectual property rights may be used to protect the legitimate rights of originative and innovative ergonomic designs. Method: Intellectual property rights were reviewed by using Korea Intellectual Property Rights Information Service (KIPRIS), and then were classified and analyzed according to three intellectual property rights (patent, utility model, design), International Patent Classification (IPC) and ergonomics application areas. Results: The total number of intellectual property rights registered in the ergonomics field in terms of three intellectual property rights (patent, utility model, design) showed 48,814 which occupied 5.97% of the total registered Korea's intellectual property rights. Within three intellectual property rights, patent (87%) was recorded overwhelmingly higher than utility model (9%) and design (4%). Conclusion: The current trend of patent, utility model and design in the ergonomics field in Korea tend to increase over time. It is suggested based on the analysis in this study that continuing research and development should be focused on electricity section in accordance with the global trend. Application: The results of this study can direct the ergonomists to the areas of intellectual property rights in the ergonomics field that should focus on the research and development in terms of three intellectual property rights, IPC and ergonomics application areas.