Increase in Antibacterial and Antiviral Air Purification Patent Applications... Impact of COVID-19 Spread

Indoor Antibacterial and Antiviral Air Purification Patent Application Status Data. Provided by the Korean Intellectual Property Office

[Asia Economy (Daejeon) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] Patent applications for air purification technologies with antibacterial and antiviral functions are increasing. It is analyzed that patent applications related to indoor air purification technologies with antibacterial functions have increased along with the development of such technologies due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) on the 3rd, a total of 238 patents in the field of 'indoor antibacterial and antiviral air purification' were filed from 2016 to this year, showing an average annual growth rate of about 14%.

The number of patent applications by year increased as follows: 38 in 2016, 41 in 2017, 45 in 2018, 50 in 2019, and 64 as of September this year.

In particular, patent applications in the antibacterial and antiviral air purification field showed a remarkable increase after the World Health Organization (WHO) declared a pandemic earlier this year. In fact, a total of 49 patents in this field were filed from March to July, nearly matching the total number of applications for the entire previous year.

Among the patent application trends in the antibacterial and antiviral air purification field over the past five years, filters accounted for the largest share with 63 applications (26.5%), followed by ultraviolet (UV) sterilization technology with 38 (16.0%), filter composition materials with 25 (10.5%), wet technologies using water with 20 (8.4%), plasma and negative ion technologies with 19 (8.0%), and electrostatic precipitator technologies with 7 (2.9%).

Notably, patent applications related to filters with UV or sterilization functions integrated into negative pressure devices in hospital rooms increased from 2 in 2019 to 15 since March this year amid the COVID-19 spread.

KIPO explains that this rapid increase in related patent applications reflects the urgent demand for technologies needed on the front lines for COVID-19 virus treatment.

Since 2016, the share of patent applicants in the antibacterial and antiviral air purification field is led by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) at 39.9% (95 applications), followed by individuals at 36.6% (87 applications), large corporations at 13.9% (33 applications), and universities and research institutes at 9.7% (23 applications).

This indicates that patent applications by SMEs and individuals have driven the overall increase in applications in this field, which is attributed to the ease of developing related technologies by small-capital companies or individuals.

Ryu Dong-hyun, Director of the Chemical and Life Technology Examination Bureau at KIPO, said, “Indoor air purification technologies that eliminate indoor bacteria or viruses are gaining attention due to the impact of COVID-19. KIPO will promptly provide related patent information to domestic companies and contribute to enhancing their industrial competitiveness.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.