Due to the impact of the COVID-19, people staying at home longer and the number of people for telecommuting has increased rapidly, not only the sales of interior decoration and furniture-related industries increased, but the number of furniture design patent applications in 2020 has also increased by 40%.

According to the statistics of the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the number of furniture design patent applications decreased year by year before 2018, however, in 2019, it rebounded to grow by 9.8% with a total of 938 cases accepted, and it increased to 1,325 cases in 2020.

In view of usage, the number of design applications for relaxing furniture such as sofas, massage chairs, beds, etc. has remarkably increased. In 2020, there were 30 cases of design patent applications for single sofas, and 216 cases of design patent applications for multi-seat sofas，and the styling is dominated by simple design without any decoration due to impact of the popularity of minimalist interior design. From 2016 to 2018, there were only 2 design patent applications related to massage chairs per year on average. It has grown to 22 in 2019 and has significantly increased to 51 in 2020, which reflects, as a result of restrictions on outdoor activities, that the demand for achieving high-quality rest and relaxation at home and health management has increased. The number of bed-related design patent applications decreased year by year before 2018, stopped reduction and stabilized in 2019, with a total of 126 applications accepted and a growth by 29.9%, then it increased to 195 in 2020.

In 2020, design patent applications related to office furniture have also had significant growth. A total of 240 design patent applications related to tables and 97 applications related to chairs were accepted.

From Tai E International Patent & Law Office

September 2021