Patent right is an exclusive right with exclusivity. Non-patentees who want to use other people's patented technology must obtain the consent of the patentee according to law.
The legal protection of patent right has timeliness. The term of invention patent right in China is 20 years, and the term of utility model patent right and design patent right is 10 years, counting from the date of application.
The definition of invention in the second paragraph of Article 2 of China's Patent Law is: "Invention refers to a new technical scheme proposed for a product, method or its improvement." The invention patent does not seek the technical achievements that can be directly applied to industrial production through practice, but it can be a solution to technical problems or an idea with the possibility of industrial application. However, this technical scheme or idea cannot be confused with a simple topic or idea, because a simple topic or idea does not have the possibility of industrial application.
The definition of utility model in the third paragraph of Article 2 of China's Patent Law is: "Utility model refers to a new and practical technical scheme for the shape, structure or combination of products." Like the invention, the utility model protects a technical scheme. However, the protection scope of utility model patent is narrow, which only protects new products with a certain shape or structure, and does not protect methods and substances without a fixed shape. The technical scheme of the utility model pays more attention to practicality, and its technical level is lower than that of the invention. Most countries' utility model patents protect relatively simple and improved technological inventions, which can be called "small inventions".
Utility model refers to a new practical technical scheme for the shape, structure or combination of products. The patent for utility model is granted without substantive examination, with simple procedures and low cost. Therefore, small inventions about tangible products such as daily necessities, machinery and electrical appliances are more suitable for applying for utility model patents.
The fourth paragraph of Article 2 of China's Patent Law defines appearance design as: "Appearance design refers to a new design that is aesthetically pleasing and suitable for industrial application based on the shape, pattern or combination of products and the combination of colors, shapes and patterns." And in Article 23 of the Patent Law, the conditions for its authorization are stipulated: "The design that has been granted a patent right does not belong to the existing design; Before the filing date, no unit or individual has applied to the patent administration department of the State Council for the same design, and it is recorded in the patent documents published after the filing date that "the patent design should be obviously different from the existing design or the combination of existing design features" and "the patent design should not conflict with the legal rights that others have obtained before the filing date".