디자인 개념 확대에 따른 디자인보호법 개정방향 제안 -디자인 보호대상에 대한 EU의 법제와 비교하여-

In past, design was generally considered a design applied to the product. However the term of design is applied to wide range of industrial boundaries such as a brand, an identity or a style beyond the appearance of an article. EU enlarged the subject matter of design to graphic symbols, typographic typefaces, ornamentation, etc. by providing widened definition of product. EU’s sui generis approach for design protection goes a step further to design separable from the product. Looking into Korean Design Protection Act, it sticks to ‘article of manufacture’ requirement in principle. In consideration of design environment today, it is easily predictable that a design separable from product is more pervasive. Accordingly, to the extent that subject matter does not conflict with the current design protection system under the Act, a design separable from product needs to be considered protected. One option is to introduce a concept of ‘ornamentation’ from EU Community Design Regulation because ornamentation is an additional element to the surface of a product, which is related to the ‘article of manufacture’ requirement. And a comprehensive discussion on design concept is also to be carried out for effective protection of a design separable from product.