Scope of invention patent protection

Rights are recognized and protected by law, but any protection is limited. If it exceeds the Scope, the law will not protect it. An invention patent is a type of intellectual property that reflects the creativity of the parties involved and is protected by law. So, what is the scope of invention patent protection? Below, the editor of Legal Savior Network will introduce the specific content to you in detail.

Scope of invention patent protection

Article 59, paragraph 1, of my country’s Patent Law stipulates: Invention or utility model The scope of protection of a patent right shall be determined by the contents of its claims, and the description and drawings may be used to interpret the claims. The claims should describe the technical features of the invention or utility model and clearly and briefly express the scope of protection requested. Therefore, when determining the scope of protection of patent rights, the content of the claims shall prevail first. The "substantial content" here means that the substantive content of the technical features and parameters recorded in the claims shall be necessary. Under this premise, the description and drawings shall be taken as the basis. can be used to interpret claims. The interpretation here is to grasp the requirements of the claims as a whole, and is not a reference when a certain technical parameter or feature in the claims is ambiguous.

Of course, this does not mean that this interpretation can go beyond the understanding of the description and drawings by ordinary technicians in the technical field and expand to the scope expected by the patentee. , the aforementioned Supreme People's Court interpreted this as saying that the scope determined by the necessary technical features clearly stated in the claims shall prevail, and also includes the scope determined by features equivalent to the necessary technical features. The so-called equivalent features refer to features that are basically the same as the recorded technical features, achieve basically the same functions, and achieve basically the same effects, and that a person of ordinary skill in the art can associate without creative work.

Scope of design protection

Article 59, paragraph 2, of my country’s Patent Law stipulates: “The scope of protection of design patent rights shall be subject to the design patent products shown in pictures or photos.”

Article 2, Paragraph 4 of my country's Patent Law also stipulates: Design refers to the shape, pattern or combination of the product, as well as the color, shape and pattern. Combined with the resulting new designs that are both aesthetically pleasing and suitable for industrial applications. The scope of design protection is based on products suitable for industrial applications. It is the shape and pattern of the product, or a combination of shapes and patterns, or a combination of color, pattern, and shape, and the shape, pattern, or combination of the product and its combination with The combination of colors should be aesthetically pleasing.Therefore, the standard for the scope of design protection to be based on the design-patented product shown in pictures or photos is highly subjective. The pictures or photos of the product itself cannot fully reflect the product itself. There is a difference between human visual reflection and the objective performance of the product. In particular, the restoration effect of color photos cannot be perfect, not to mention that the shape is a whole composed of points, lines, and surfaces. , different viewing angles have different effects, especially colors. Therefore, people’s identification of designs that are a combination of color, shape, and pattern cannot be completely consistent. Therefore, we believe that the scope of protection of design patent rights should be extended to similar designs.

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