Admiral Yi Sun-sin's turtle ship and the rain gauge created during the reign of King Sejong will receive honorary patents.
On the 31st, the Korean Intellectual Property Office disclosed that it has begun an examination to determine the registration of honorary patents after selecting 15 notable inventions from ancestral inventors to commemorate the 60th anniversary of Inventor's Day.
The Korean Intellectual Property Office received recommendations for 65 notable ancestral inventions in collaboration with examiners, prior art investigation institutions, and the National Museum of Science. Among these, 15 were ultimately selected as notable ancestral inventions after reviewing their historical significance and technical characteristics. The technologies selected as notable ancestral inventions include the angbu-ilgu (a traditional Korean water clock), the geojunggi (pulley system), the rain gauge, the ajabang ondol (a type of heated flooring), the singijeonggi hwachae (a type of war rocket), the jagyeongnu (a water clock), the honcheonsigi (a celestial clock), the punggidae (wind gauge), the Daedongyeojido (Grand Map of Korea), the bigyeokjincheollyeo (a type of bomb), the turtle ship, the gwansanggam gwancheondae (a type of celestial observation platform), the yeon-eun bunri-beop (a technique for separating lotus seeds), the seokbinggo (ice storage), and the printing method using metal moveable type.
The 15 selected notable inventions were applied for a patent by drafting descriptions and characteristics regarding the main technologies in the format of specification for patent examination. The turtle ship is recognized as an innovative warship that protected its crew from enemy fire by covering the upper part of the panokseon (a traditional Korean ship) with a cover embedded with iron nails and blocked enemy boarding entirely, while the rain gauge is evaluated as a pluviograph that is over 200 years ahead of the West.
The notable ancestral inventions selected in this manner will undergo a review by the examiners of the Korean Intellectual Property Office, and the decision on the honorary patent registration will be made during the Inventor's Day commemoration ceremony next month. The Inventor's Day commemorative event will be held on May 19.
Kim Jeong-gyun, the director of the industry property policy department at the Korean Intellectual Property Office, noted, "Invention has always been closely connected to our lives from ancient ancestors to the present day," adding, "I hope this event serves as a meaningful opportunity to highlight the achievements of Korean inventions in history and to reflect on the importance of invention in the present and future."