패션디자인의 디자인보호법상 보호와 보호 가능성에 관한 고찰 - 디자인 성립 및 등록요건과 동일ㆍ유사 판단 기준 관련 판례 검토를 중심으로 -

This paper is aimed at intensively examining the scope of legal protection for fashion designs underthe Design Protection Act of Korea. For this purpose, this looked into how the Act defines theconcept of design, its requirements, and the prerequisites for acquiring design rights. The study alsoreviewed statutory interpretations over the judgment of the identity and similarity of designs. Formore practical and substantial discussions, this research utilized cases and precedents, which had relevantlegal principles. This study also figured out how both the requirements for a design definition -such as merchantability, configuration, visibility, and aesthetics - and the prerequisites for acquiringdesign rights - like industrial applicability, novelty, and creativity - are interpreted and utilized in actualcircumstances. The authors expressed their opinions regarding the criteria of judging the identityand similarity of designs, based on a study of previous cases. Previous rulings show that aesthetics ofthe exterior design is used as the criteria for determining whether a design is same or similar. So,two designs, which have different specific details, are deemed same or similar, if both designs showsimilarity in the dominant elements. This is because both designs will produce similar aestheticqualities. However, if the dominant elements of a design are part of the public domain, and the specificdetails characterize the design, the latter has to be evaluated in the process. This paper examinedscope of legal protection for fashion designs using relevant precedents. The study may serve asacademic materials that lead to the establishment of rightful ownership in creative activities.