How to determine the scope of protection of patent rights
(1) Determine the interpretation object of the scope of protection
When determining the scope of patent protection, the relevant claims claimed by the patentee as the basis for the rights should be explained.
1. The independent patent claim reflects the technical solution of the invention or utility model patent as a whole and records the necessary technical features to solve the technical problem. Compared with the dependent claims, , its protection scope is the largest. When determining the scope of patent protection, the independent claim of the patent with the largest scope of protection should usually be interpreted.
2. If there are more than two independent claims in a patent, the scope of protection determined by the independent claims should be explained according to the request made by the right holder. .
3. If the right holder claims that the scope of protection shall be determined by a dependent claim, the additional technical features recorded in the dependent claim and the claims directly or indirectly cited shall be used The recorded technical features shall be determined together with the scope of patent protection.
4. Technical features refer to the ability to relatively independently perform certain technical functions and produce relatively independent technical effects in the technical solutions defined in the claims. The smallest technical unit or unit combination.
(2) Principles of interpretation
1. The principle of validity of patent rights. Before the patent rights claimed by the rights holders are invalidated, their rights should be protected, and no judgment should be made on the grounds that the patent rights do not meet the relevant authorization conditions of the Patent Law and should be invalidated.
A copy of the patent register, or the patent certificate and the receipt of the patent annual fee for that year can be used as evidence to prove the validity of the patent right.
2. Principle of compromise. When interpreting claims, the technical content recorded in the claims shall prevail.The scope of patent protection can be reasonably determined by factors such as drawings, existing technology, and the contribution of the patent to existing technology; the scope of patent protection cannot be limited to the literal meaning of the claims, nor can the scope of patent protection be extended to Contents that ordinary technicians in the technical field can only associate with creative work after reading the description and drawings before the date of patent application.
3. Overall (all technical features) principle. The technical content expressed by all the technical features recorded in the claims shall be treated as an overall technical solution. The technical features recorded in the preamble and the technical features recorded in the characteristic part have the same effect in defining the scope of protection.
The scope of protection of an invention or utility model patent shall be based on the claims. The description and drawings may be used to explain the claims. It should be noted that claims are divided into independent claims and dependent claims, and they play different roles in determining the scope of protection. Usually, when considering the scope of patent protection, independent claims are considered rather than dependent claims.
The scope of protection of design patent rights shall be subject to the design patent product shown in pictures or photos. It is worth pointing out that the object of protection of a design patent is a product, and the design must be integrated with the product.
No comments yet. Say something...