Zhang San has a patent on stools. This stool is very simple and the patent is very simple. A stool comprises a seat; And four support legs connected with the seat and supported on the ground.
Zhang San's stool sold well in the market, but after a while, Li Si found it uncomfortable to sit on the stool for a long time. If there is a backrest on the stool, it will be more comfortable to sit on it. So Li Si invented the chair and prepared to apply for a patent. The improvement of the chair over the stool lies in the addition of a backrest. Of course, the chair also has a seat and four supporting legs.
This question arises:
1. Li Cansi applied for a patent for the chair?
Sure!
Patent application does not require that the technological innovation scheme is an original invention, and an improvement on the basis of existing products or existing technologies can also be patented. In fact, original inventions or basic inventions are very rare, especially in today's increasingly developed technology. Most inventions are improved on the basis of the existing technology. As Newton said, "Why do I see farther than others? That's because I stand on the shoulders of giants. " Why can a chair be patented? Because the stool in the prior art has no backrest, people will feel uncomfortable sitting on it for a long time. In order to solve this problem, adding a backrest to become a chair is an innovation of the chair, so the chair can be patented.
By the same token, in our R&D work, most of the work is based on the existing technology to improve product performance, reduce costs and improve production efficiency. If these R&D achievements are creative, you can apply for a patent. On the contrary, in practical work, there is an opportunity to invent a brand-new product, but the probability is relatively small. Therefore, in research and development, don't think that your innovation is unremarkable, and small inventions can solve big problems. How to protect your invention? Still applying for a patent is the most secure.
2. Does Li Cansi produce and sell chairs?
No way!
Many people wonder, since I applied for a patent, why can't I produce it myself? From the point of view of patent infringement, as long as a product contains all the technical features of the claim of the prior patent, it belongs to the scope of patent protection. For the chair, although the backrest is added, it also includes a seat and four supporting legs, that is, the chair includes all the elements of the stool, so it belongs to the patent protection scope of the stool. Therefore, it can be said that if Li Si produces and sells chairs, it will infringe on the patent right of stools.
But further, because Li Si owns the patent right of chairs, others, including the patentee of stools, can't produce chairs without Li Si's consent, otherwise it will infringe Li Si's patent right of chairs. For Li Si, although he can't produce chairs, because Li Si owns the patent right of chairs, he has the monopoly right of chairs.
3. Why did Li Si apply for a chair patent?
Obviously, Li Si spent money to apply for a patent not only to have a nominal monopoly, but also to produce and sell chairs and make a profit from them. However, because of the patent of stool, Li Si can't produce and sell chairs. What is the significance of Li Si's patent application?
Because chairs are more comfortable to sit on, the market for chairs will be good and the profits will be considerable. At this time, Li Si was thinking: If I can produce and sell chairs, I will definitely make a good profit, but because of the patent of stools, I can't produce chairs. Zhang San is also thinking: the market and profit of chairs must be better than my stools. If I can produce and sell chairs, I will get a good return. However, because Li Si has a patent on chairs, I can't produce and sell chairs.
Both Zhang San and Li Si are considering that if we cooperate, we will succeed. How can we cooperate? There are several schemes:
1, Zhang San authorizes Li Si to use the stool patent, that is, Li Si can produce chairs, and Li Si pays Zhang San a certain stool patent fee;
2. Li Si authorizes Zhang San to use the chair patent, that is, Zhang San can produce the chair, and Zhang San pays Li Si a certain fee for the use of the chair;
3. Zhang San and Li Si carry out patent cross-licensing, that is, Zhang San authorizes Li Si to use the stool patent and Li Si also authorizes Zhang San to use the chair patent, so that Zhang San can produce both stools and chairs, and Li Si can also produce stools and chairs.
Of course, there are many other cooperation schemes. No matter which cooperation scheme, Zhang San and Li Si are happy, because they can all benefit from their respective patents, so the benefits of patents will be revealed.
At this time, Wang Wu saw that the market for chairs was so good, and he also wanted to produce and sell chairs. However, due to the existence of the chair patent, he had to hope to get the patent authorization from Zhang Sanhe and Li Si, but Zhang Sanhe and Li Si said, I'm sorry, the chair can only be produced and sold by ourselves, and no one else can talk about it. Wang Wu had to worry, but there was nothing he could do, because he had no patent, no way to negotiate with others, and no way to cross-license patents like Zhang San and Li Si.
4. What about Wang Wu?
Because the stool chair market is good, Wang Wu has always wanted to enter this market, but he can't get the patent authorization from Zhang Sanhe and Li Si. What should Wang Wu do? There are some methods:
1, Wang continued to study and improve on the basis of stools and chairs. For example, a chair has only a backrest. If I can continue to add armrests to the chair and turn it into an armchair, users will feel more comfortable. Wang Wei applied for an armchair patent. Continue to improve, if the backrest of the chair is improved to be flat, the chair can be turned into a multifunctional recliner, and Wang continued to apply for a patent for the recliner.
Because there will be a huge market for armchairs and recliners, if Zhang San and Li Si want to produce armchairs and recliners, then Wang Wu will have bargaining chips, so the above story will be repeated.
2. Wang studied the patents of Zhang San and Li Si and designed around them. For example, the patents of Zhang San and Li Si all say that stools or chairs have four legs, so if the stools and chairs designed by Wang Wu have three legs, their patents will not be infringed. Can you analyze that the following schemes infringe the patents of Zhang San and Li Si?
Summary:
1. The original intention of a patent is to protect inventions. However, with the intensification of market competition, patent has become one of the strategies of commercial competition. Only patents have the right to speak. Patent is a business game. If there is no patent, you may not even be qualified to play games.
2. Patents can not only protect the achievements of independent innovation, but also be used as a bargaining chip for cross-licensing and negotiation with others.
3. Patent protection and patent circumvention design have always been the relationship between spear and shield. How to use patents to protect their own innovations as much as possible and avoid others' evasion? How to find ways to avoid other people's patents? This pair of contradictions always urges us to use our brains, and it is precisely because of this pair of contradictions that we constantly carry out technological innovation. Therefore, although spears and shields are different ways, they achieve the same goal. To paraphrase a philosophical saying: contradiction is the driving force for the development of things.