中国明确专利保护原则和规定

26-Apr-2010

中国明确专利保护原则与规定

CMS金马伦麦坚拿律师行

自《中华人民共和国专利法》（简称为“《新专利法》”）上次修订并颁布之后，近日新的法规又相继出台。“配套规则”将会影响中国专利侵权诉讼中专利权人的积极性。预计会有更多有发明专利权人提起民事和劳动纠纷诉讼。外商投资企业应就合同事宜与其雇员进行商讨，以减少产生争诉的风险。

新近出台的法例包括由最高人民法院公布的《关于审理侵犯专利权纠纷案件应用法律若干问题的解释》（简称为“《解释》”）（自2010年1月1日起施行），以及一部更为重要的法规，即对《中华人民共和国专利法实施细则》（简称为“《实施细则》”）进行的修订，修订后的《实施细则》自2010年2月1日起施行。

我们将简要介绍《解释》及《实施细则》，并对这些规定为中国专利体制带来的新元素作出分析。

1．《解释》

《解释》中的大部分指导原则已经在过去的司法实践中被广泛应用。最高人民法院在其司法解释中正式采用了这些指导原则，以使《新专利法》得到贯彻实施。

1.1 赔偿金计算的指导原则

配套规则被用于计算赔偿数额。《解释》明确规定“因侵权所获得的利益”应限于侵权人因侵犯专利权行为所获得的利益，暗示侵权人从侵权产品所获得的利益与赔偿金应分别计算。

1.2 权利要求认定的指导原则

根据《新专利法》第59条规定，发明或实用新型专利权的保护范围以其权利要求的内容为准。《解释》中规定了下列规定：

（1）专利权人的自由决定

权利人在一审法庭辩论终结前变更其主张的权利要求的，人民法院应当准许。

此外，权利人也可以根据丛书权利要求请求法院确定其专利权的保护范围。

（2）禁止反言原则

专利申请人，专利权人在专利审查或者无效宣告程序中，通过对权利要求，说明书的修改或者意见陈述而

放弃的技术方案，权利人在侵犯专利权纠纷案件中有将其纳入专利权保护范围的，人民法院不予支持。

1.3 侵权认定的指导原则

《解释》认可了直接侵权原则和等同原则。

人民法院判定被诉侵权技术方案是否落入专利权的保护范围，应当审查权利人主张的权利要求所记载的全部技术特征。如果被诉侵权技术方案的技术特征与权利要求记载的全部技术特征相比，缺少权利要求记载的一个以上的技术特征，或者有一个以上技术特征不相同也不等同的，人民法院应当认定其没有落入专利权的保护范围。

1.4 间接侵权

《解释》规定了《新专利法》中没有涉及的间接侵权规定。

将侵犯发明或者实用新型专利权的产品作为零部件，制造另一产品或销售另一产品的，应认定为使用专利的行为，并构成专利侵权。但是，对于外观设计专利来说，将侵犯外观设计专利权的产品作为零部件，制造另一产品的，如果该外观设计专利权的产品在该另一产品中仅具有技术功能的，不认定构成专利侵权。

一方未经专利权人许可销售钙等专利权产品，而另一方将该等专利权产品作为零部件制造另一产品，双方具有侵权计划的，构成共同侵权。

2．《实施细则》

为了有效实施《新专利法》，《实施细则》经修订后制定了详细的解释性和说明性规定。

下列主要规定应予以关注：

2.1 发明人或设计人奖金

根据修订前《专利法实施细则》的规定，被授予技术或外观设计专利权的国有企业应发给其在职发明人或设计人奖金。但是，除国有企业外，其他类型的企业并没有详细的规定。

修订后的《实施细则》将上述规定的范围扩展至包括私营企业在内的所有类型企业。

除非合同（劳动合同或劳务合同）中另有约定或企业另有内部规定外，企业应当至少发给发明人或者设计人奖金如下：

专利公告：至少3000元人民币（发明专利）和1000元人民币（实用新型或者外观设计专利）

专利实施：2%的年度营业利润（发明或实用新型专利）或0.2% 的年度营业利润（外观设计专利）

专利许可：至少10%的使用费

2.2 遗传资源

《新专利法》规定就依赖遗传资源完成的发明申请专利的，申请人负有信息披露的义务。

根据《实施细则》第26条规定，《新专利法》中规定的遗传资源包括下列两个重要术语：

遗传资源是指取自人体，动物，植物或微生物等含有遗传功能单位并具有实际或潜在价值的材料。

依赖遗传资源完成的发明创造是指利用了遗传资源的遗传功能完成的发明创造。

此外，《实施细则》还规定，就依赖遗传资源完成的发明创造申请专利的，申请人应当在请求书中予以说明，并填写国务院专利行政部门制定的表格。

但是，《实施细则》没有明确《新专利法》中涉及的如“直接来源”和“原始来源”等术语的定义。

2.3 强制许可

《新专利法》规定在下列情况之一的，专利行政部门可以给予专利的强制许可：

专利权人自专利权被授予之日起满三年，或自提出专利申请之日起满四年，无正当理由未实施或者未充分实施其专利的；或者

专利权人行使专利权的行为被依法认定为垄断行为的。

根据《实施细则》，专利权人及其被许可人实施其专利的方式或者规模不能满足国内对专利产品或者专利方法的需求时，即构成未充分实施其专利。

《新专利法》规定，为了公共健康目的，对取得专利权的药品，国务院专利行政部门可以给予制造并将其出口到符合中华人民共和国参加的有关国际条约规定的国家或者地区的强制许可。《实施细则》使用《与贸易有关的知识产权协议》中“药品”的定义来界定“取得专利的药品”。“取得专利的药品”包括取得专利权的制造该产品所需的活性成分以及使用该产品所需的诊断用品。

上述有关强制许可的规定可能产生的主要后果是，中国政府被授予更多的在谈判前或谈判过程中与专利权人就其专利权实施的议价能力，并鼓励普通企业申请强制许可某些专利权。

CMS英国金马伦麦坚拿律师事务

26-Apr-2010

China Clarifies Principles And Rules Of Patent Protection

CMS Cameron McKenna

New legislation was promulgated recently following the recent revision of the PRC Patent Law (“New Patent Law”). “Matching rules” will affect the initiative of patent right holders in patent infringement actions in China. More litigation is expected to be initiated by inventors in civil and labour disputes. Foreign invested companies have to negotiate their contract with their employees to mitigate the risk of litigation.

These new legislation includes the Interpretation on the Application of Law Concerning Several Issues in Handling Patent Infringement Disputes(“Interpretation”) (effective on 1 January 2010) published by the Supreme People’s Court, and more importantly, the revisions of the Rules for the Implementation of the Patent Law of PRC(“Implementation Rules”) (effective on 1 February 2010).

We shall briefly present the Interpretation and the Implementation Rules and analyse the new elements they brought to the PRC patent regime.

1. Interpretation

Most of the guidelines in the Interpretation have already been widely implemented in practice in the past. The Supreme People’s Court officially adopted these guidelines as judicial interpretation to support the implementation of the New Patent Law.

1.1 Guideline for damage calculation

Matching rules are adopted in damage calculation. The Interpretation expressly limits the “gains from infringement” to such extent as solely originated from the activities that infringe the rights of the patent right hol der, suggesting a dichotomy between the infringer’s gains from the infringing products and compensation amount.

1.2 Guideline for claim determination

According to Article 59 of the New Patent Law, the content of the claim determines the scope of protection of patent rights related to inventions or utility model. The Interpretation provides for the following rules:

(i) Free will of the patent right holder

The court shall allow the patent right holder to make changes to his claim(s) before the conclusion of the court debate of the first instance.

In addition, the patent right holder may also request to determine the scope of protection of patent rights

based on a subordinate claim.

(ii) Doctrine of estoppels

If, during the course of examination or invalidation procedure, a patent applicant or patent owner abandons a technical solution by amending the claim or specifications or by making statement, the court will not uphold its allegation of rights on the abandoned technical solution into the scope of protection of patent.

1.3 Guideline for infringement determination

According to the Interpretation, the principle of literal infringement and doctrine of equivalence are respected.

The court shall examine all the technical features defined in the claim(s) asserted by the patent right holder in order to judge whether the disputed technical solution falls into the scope of patent. If such technical solution lacks one or several technical features as defined in the claim, or includes one or several technical features that are neither identical nor equivalent to that defined in the claim, it shall not constitute an infringement.

1.4 Indirect infringement

The Interpretation provides for the rules of indirect infringement which is not stipulated in the New Patent Law.

The use of a patented product as a component for the manufacture of another product as well as the sale of such manufactured product is considered as use of patent and constitutes patent infringement. However, for an industrial design, the manufacture of another product by using such industrial design product as one of the component will not be considered as infringement if such use is only limited to the technical function of such product instead of its industrial design.

Joint infringement may be constituted if the party which sells such patented product without authorisation of the patent right holder as well as the party which manufactures another product by using such patented product has jointly planned for such infringement.

2. The Implementation Rules

The revised Implementation Rules provide for detailed explanations and specifications to smooth the implementation of the New Patent Law.

The following key rules need to be taken into account:

2.1 Inventor or designer financial reward

The former implementing rules of the Patent Law provided that an inventor or designer of a stated owned enterprise was entitled to obtain financial reward for the patent of the technology or design that he or she had invented or made during the performance of his/her duty. However, no detailed rules were stipulated for other companies than state owned enterprises.

The new Implementing Rules extend the above provision to any type of companies, including private companies.

Unless otherwise agreed or excluded in the underlying contract (employment or services contract) or

internal regulations of the company, the company shall financially reward the inventor or designer at least as follows:

o announcement: at least 3,000 RMB (invention) and at least 1,000 RMB (utility model or industrial design)

o exploitation of the patent: at least 2% of the annual operating margin (invention or utility model) or 0.2% of the annual operating margin (industrial design)

o licence: at least 10% of the royalties

2.2 Genetic resources

The New Patent Law has introduced a disclosure obligation for the application of patents based on genetic resources.

The Implementation Rules define, in Article 26, the following two important terms regarding the genetic resources stipulated in the New Patent Law:

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Genetic resources mean the materials obtained from human body, animal, plants or microbes, etc, which contain genetic functions and which have actual or potential value.

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Invention relying on genetic resource means an invention that utilises the genetic functions of genetic resources.

Moreover, the Implementation Rules specify that when a patent application is made for an invention relying on genetic resources, the applicant shall expressly disclose this issue in the application documents and shall fill out a specific form provided by the patent administration authority. However, the Implementation Rules fail to clarify issues such as the definition of “direct source” and “original source” mentioned in the New Patent Law.

2.3 Compulsory licence

The New Patent Law stipulates situations which allow the patent authority to grant a compulsory licence: ???????

a patent right holder fails to exploit or fully exploit his patent without any justified reason within

3 years of the patent grant date or

4 years of the patent application date; or

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the patent right holder has been exploiting the patent rights in a monopolising manner.

According to the Implementation Rules, failure to fully exploit a patent would happen in the event the patent right holder or licensee’s methods or scale of exploiting the patent cannot fulfil the need of such patent in China.

The New Patent Law provides that for public health purpose, the patent authority has the right to grant Chinese companies the licence to manufacture patented medicine and/or export them to countries or regions, with which China has concluded related international treaties. The Implementation Rules use the definition of pharmaceutical products in the TRIPS Agreement to define “patented medicine”. The definition of “patented medicine” include necessary active ingredients and diagnosis kits to be used for making such patented medicine.

The main consequence of the above clarifications on compulsory licence is probably to give the Chinese government further bargaining power prior or during negotiation with the patent right holder on the exploitation of its rights and to encourage generic companies to apply for grant of a compulsory licence.

CMS Cameron McKenna