Under the Korean Patent Act and KIPO’s Requirements for Patentability, the following are not patentable in Korea:
- any invention detrimental to public order, morality or public health
- scientific discoveries
- inventions not based on the law of nature (e.g. laws of economics, mathematical methods, etc.)
- arbitrary arrangements (e.g. rules for playing games)
- mental activities
- aesthetic effects (e.g. paintings, carvings)
- animal and plant varieties
- methods for medical treatment of the human body