Last month the Intellectual Property Rights Development Exhibition-2024 was held at the Sci-Tech Complex in Pyongyang.

More than 640 units in various sectors including industry, agriculture, science and technology and art and literature presented 2 600-odd proposals and items which had been granted invention certificates, patents, trademarks, rights to place of origin and geographical marking, copyrights and new plant species certificates.

The methods of producing plastic composite sealing ring and hard alloy for drilling bit head presented by Kim Il Sung University and the smart control system of buildings by the Paektusan Institute of Architecture stole the scene for their contribution to the economic development and good prospects for application. The Pyongyang Essential Oil Factory exhibited six kinds of new essential oil extracted from apple, strawberry and others and four kinds of essential oil for laundry soap production. It also presented various kinds of jam and juice made with fruits from which essential oil was extracted. After tasting them, the visitors realized that anyone could make such practical and essential intellectual properties if they decided to do.

The peppermint-flavoured disposable wet tissue, a multi-functional green product, drew the attention of the visitors as it helps people to treat skin disorders and their aftereffects by themselves without having to visit a hospital.

Seeing Pagyon-brand household appliances, chip for simply making health-promoting antibiotic small molecular water, microelement compound fertilizer containing organic nutrients, ClO 2 gel that has a marvellous effect on indoor air disinfection, optical fibre laser cutter that can incise various kinds of objects of complicated designs with high precision and speed and other exhibits, the visitors felt that the creation and increment of intellectual properties play a major role in accelerating the country’s civilization and development.

Also on display were more than 1 600 works related to language and letters, fine arts, music and images, as well as collections of literary works, calligraphic and fine art works, models and inventions made by schoolchildren.

During the exhibition there were presentations on the theme of “Experience gained in protecting the right to the place of origin of Pyongyang cold noodles and in registering the trademark Okryu Restaurant in several countries and protecting it” and “Kaesong Koryo Insam, pride of the DPRK, and importance of international protection of its IP rights.” The events served as an occasion for the people to exchange the experience in IP rights management and learn from each other.

“One of the major objectives of the exhibition was to arouse public interest in IP rights and raise the social atmosphere of creating and applying IP products through extensive propagation and exchange of knowledge, technology and experience. That objective was successfully attained,” said Kim Sun, head of a department of the Intellectual Property Office.

Rim Chun Hak