South Korea Tries To Patent Military Uniforms To Prevent North Korean's Dressing Like Them

from the that'll-stop-them dept

Thu, Nov 11th 2010 9:27am — Mike Masnick

Two years ago, we wrote about how the Finnish military was accusing the Russians of infringing on their camouflage intellectual property. The Finns had apparently registered the camouflage as a design right, and the Russians were copying it. Perhaps building on that idea, it appears that the South Korean military is now trying to patent the camouflage design of its new uniforms, with the idea being (again) to prevent others (the North Koreans, for example) from copying the uniforms in order to confuse South Korean soldiers. I'm not quite sure how South Korean patent law works, or how it's even possible to patent such a thing there, but if the goal really is to prevent nefarious enemy soldiers from dressing up in South Korean uniforms, you'd have to imagine it's not going to be effective. After all, if we're talking about an army invading or infiltrating, one imagines that they wouldn't have much concern about how they're also infringing on the patent. In the meantime, I'm curious if anyone can explain the "incentive" provided to the South Korean military by this potential patent. Is anyone really suggesting that such a uniform would not have been designed without the protection of a patent?

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Filed Under: camouflage, patents, south korea, uniforms

39 Comments

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Anonymous Coward, 11 Nov 2010 @ 9:36am

So will they declare war on them for infringement? Talk about fighting a war for a worthy cause.

Didn't we joke about starting an IP based war on techdirt a long time ago? Looks like it's becoming reality. An infringement war.
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Anonymous Coward, 11 Nov 2010 @ 9:39am

"Is anyone really suggesting that such a uniform would not have been designed without the protection of a patent?"

Yes, because governments don't care about the lives of their solders and designing stuff costs money. Do you think a govt will design this if its only purpose was to help save the lives of its solders?
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- Irving, 11 Nov 2010 @ 9:47am
  
  Re:
  "Yes, because governments don't care about the lives of their solders"
  
  Are you kidding? Do you know how much a soldier costs?!
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  - Ron Rezendes (profile), 11 Nov 2010 @ 10:17am
    
    Re: Re:
    The logistical problem here is that the government knows it's cheaper to bury them than pay for their retirement and care after service. This is obviously a sad day (Veteran's Day) to even have to point this disturbing truth out.
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Joe Seoul, 11 Nov 2010 @ 10:01am

Huh
As we all know, the nation of North Korea has a great deal of respect for their southern neighbor's intellectual property laws!

I see this idea in general as a great way to ensure that another nation, in times of war, will not produce highly accurate replicas of enemy uniforms for hostile purposes. I mean, imagine the lawsuit!
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interval (profile), 11 Nov 2010 @ 10:09am

Well, it is the Korean Penninsula...
These are the same people who believe leaving a fan on in a room can kill you;

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fan_death
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Yogi, 11 Nov 2010 @ 10:12am

Excuses?
So now we're running out of excuses for war? Perhaps this is because all previous excuses have been copyrighted...
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- Dark Helmet (profile), 11 Nov 2010 @ 10:14am
  
  Re: Excuses?
  A new religion will solve that. Might I suggest Helmetism?
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  - Berenerd (profile), 11 Nov 2010 @ 10:37am
    
    Re: Re: Excuses?
    OH GREAT HELMET! WHAT IS YOUR BIDDING???
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    - Dark Helmet (profile), 11 Nov 2010 @ 11:14am
      
      Re: Re: Re: Excuses?
      I require a sacrifice. Say...two brats, sauerkraut with brown mustard, and a couple of perogis....
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      - A Dan (profile), 11 Nov 2010 @ 12:46pm
        
        Re: Re: Re: Re: Excuses?
        I told a guy at work yesterday that hot dog purists support mustard (and optionally relish) and despise ketchup on hot dogs. He didn't believe me.
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        Joe Wurst, 11 Nov 2010 @ 2:03pm
        
        Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Excuses?
        Death to the Ketchup Heretics!
        
        Mustard is the only sauce* fit for sausage.
        
        *Chili is not a sauce, duh!
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  - Yogi, 11 Nov 2010 @ 11:42am
    
    Re: Re: Excuses?
    I'm always a sucker for new religions. So what are the basic tenets of your religion, meaning, who should I hate and wish dead?
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    - Lawrence D'Oliveiro, 11 Nov 2010 @ 12:55pm
      
      Re: Excuses?
      Yogi, asked:
      
      ... who should I hate and wish dead?
      
      You should only hate and wish dead those who hate anybody and wish them dead.
      
      Question: should you hate and wish dead yourself?
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  - btrussell (profile), 11 Nov 2010 @ 3:29pm
    
    Re: Re: Excuses?
    Helmetism has been the religion of every woman I have dated more than once.
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kyle clements (profile), 11 Nov 2010 @ 10:18am

add on
this might make sense as an add-on charge.

For example, when entering the US, a friend of mine who was an international student had to fill out a form with such questions as:

Are you affiliated with any terrorist groups?
___yes
___no

Were you a member of the Nazi party between 1932 - 1945?
___yes
___no

Have you ever illegally smuggled an infant across international boarders?
___yes
___no

These questions might seem insanely stupid at first; but if it turns out that they are in the states for some nefarious purpose, they can tack on an "entered the country illegally" charge.

So, while the law itself might be useless, if the South catches a North Korean on their side, they might not have enough to get him for spying, but they can get him for infringement.
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- Bruce Ediger (profile), 11 Nov 2010 @ 3:49pm
  
  Re: add on
  I wondered if this sort of thing wasn't the purpose of copyrighting/patenting uniforms: "Those evil, sub-human X.Y's! Not only have they performed Evil Act X, but they've also downloaded child porn *and* stolen our ideas!"
  
  Sort of like how every high profile criminal now has a "19 Images of Child Pornography" charge in addition to the drugs, drug paraphenalia, illegal firearms, contraband cigarettes and armor piercing bullets changes.
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  - TtfnJohn (profile), 11 Nov 2010 @ 6:11pm
    
    Re: Re: add on
    Soon to be added: wearing a camouflage Chanel gown from the fall collection.
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Overcast (profile), 11 Nov 2010 @ 10:33am

Are they going to sue North Korea if they ignore this? lol
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PRMan, 11 Nov 2010 @ 10:40am

Really?
I would think all they have to do is keep the 7 guys at the border from seeing it. It's not as if anyone in North Korea actually gets to see the outside world...
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megameanie (profile), 11 Nov 2010 @ 10:50am

Your days are numbered
I'm currently seeking a Patent on life and as soon as I get it, should be any day now, you guys ARE ALL SCREWED! Oh yeah.
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scarr (profile), 11 Nov 2010 @ 10:52am

Maybe
Maybe South Korea thinks their lawyers are more threatening than their military.
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Megore, 11 Nov 2010 @ 11:01am

Oh man all this time we could of won wars by patenting our enemies weapons and ammunition and then they wouldn't be able to use them :P
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Anonymous Coward, 11 Nov 2010 @ 11:01am

Blazing Kimchee
Reminds me that line in Blazing Saddles when Slim Pickens and his invading army encounter an empty toll booth in the middle of the desert. He says, "Somebody's got to go back and get a sh*tload of dimes"
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Megore, 11 Nov 2010 @ 11:01am

Oh man all this time we could of won wars by patenting our enemies weapons and ammunition and then they wouldn't be able to use them :P
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Eugene (profile), 11 Nov 2010 @ 11:36am

This is hilarious logic. I'd love to see the kind of country that this would actually trip up.

Enemy Brass: Okay, the plan is to infiltrate their base by dressing our soldiers in similar uniforms.
Enemy Lawyer: I'm afraid we can't do that. They have a patent on their uniform design.
Enemy Brass: Damn! Back to the drawing board then. Unless...perhaps we could license it for a couple days? What's the procedure for that?
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SLK8ne, 11 Nov 2010 @ 12:00pm

Welcome to Warner Bros...East
Holy sheep dip Batgirl! Who's running that country? Pinky and the Brain????

Come to think of it I always wondered what Pinky and Brain did after they were canceled. Now we know the rest of the story!
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- Anonymous Coward, 11 Nov 2010 @ 1:12pm
  
  Re: Welcome to Warner Bros...East
  The patenting of a uniform might seem unusual or ridiculous right now, but one just needs to look at the example of the Japanese Coast Guard and their ultimate camouflage to understand why it is necessary. If only someone had patented the uniforms they were wearing in this video, it might have been prevented.
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  - Bruce Ediger (profile), 11 Nov 2010 @ 3:54pm
    
    Re: Re: Welcome to Warner Bros...East
    That video appears to confirm the "Pinky and The Brain are Running A Country" hypothesis, but since it's the Japanese Coast Guard, maybe they're not in charge in S. Korea.
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Anonymous Coward, 11 Nov 2010 @ 12:29pm

Well, obviously! (or not.....)
Surely patenting cammo wouldn't pass the obviousness test for patent either? It's not like there aren't already 1200 similar designs or something. Unless they've come up with a new zany DPM (dispersed pattern material) pattern that actually hypnotises the viewer or something.. now THAT would be cool!

Hmm Helmetism? Is that "Jedi" for the teens?
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- A Dan (profile), 11 Nov 2010 @ 12:56pm
  
  Re: Well, obviously! (or not.....)
  Surely you have seen Spaceballs...
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Lawrence D'Oliveiro, 11 Nov 2010 @ 12:56pm

Aren�t You Glad ...
... you live in a free country, where such abuses of the law cannot happen?
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- Chargone (profile), 11 Nov 2010 @ 6:20pm
  
  Re: Aren�t You Glad ...
  which country's That?
  
  about the only thing the USA's really free from is the (now defunct) British Empire, btw.
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Transbot9, 11 Nov 2010 @ 2:51pm

Fun Fact
The US military has a patent on the camouflage they use
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Anonymous Coward, 11 Nov 2010 @ 6:58pm

Patents are supposed to encourage people to give away their secrets. So by getting this patent they are giving away military secrets.
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Anonymous Coward, 11 Nov 2010 @ 8:37pm

Anytime I see a link to againstmonopoly I know I am about to be treated to an entertaining FUD. Of course, once again I was entertained.

I know it is wishful thinking, but perhaps someday the site might actually present an article that does not peg its bias tachometer past redline.
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Yeebok (profile), 12 Nov 2010 @ 12:29am

Sorry if it's been mentioned before but the plural for North Koreans doesn't actually require the apostrophe (not possessive, not a contraction) ;)
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ReallyEvilCanine (profile), 12 Nov 2010 @ 2:41am

There is a logic to this
China is DPRK's largest producer and trading partner. If South Korea holds a patent on something it makes it much easier for China to refuse to manufacture those copycat uniforms, pointing to the need to respect the patents of its other trading partners who provide them substantially more income.
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Colin Samuels (profile), 12 Nov 2010 @ 11:39am

At least we have our euphemism for the next go-around.
The first Korean War was euphemistically referred-to as a "police action"; the next one can be the "patent enforcement hearing". Perhaps even "Police Action in Korea II: The Patent Enforcement Hearing (Sponsored by Hyundai and Presented in Samsung 3D)"?
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