Article 17 An inventor or designer has the right to state clearly in the patent document that he is an inventor or designer.
The patentee has the right to indicate the patent mark on his patented product or the packaging of the product.
This clause stipulates the right of the inventor or designer to sign the patent document.
Invention is the result of the creative work of inventors or designers. To encourage invention and creation, we must first recognize the achievements of inventors or designers, identify the inventors or designers of patents, and publish them. Therefore, this article gives the inventor or designer the right to sign the patent document. Theoretically, this right is called "spiritual right" or "personal right" of patent right by some scholars. This is a spiritual reward for the inventor or designer's creative work.
The right of authorship of an inventor or designer is an important issue. Therefore, the most basic international convention on industrial property, Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, requires all member states to grant the inventor or designer the right of signature. As for how to implement this provision, it is the legislative authority of each member state. At this point, national legislation can be roughly divided into two types. A few countries (such as the United States) stipulate that inventors have the right to apply for a patent for any invention and must swear to believe that they are the first inventor of the invention. In these countries, when applying for a patent for service invention, the inventor shall transfer his invention to his subordinate unit. After authorization, the name of the inventor shall be stated in the patent specification first, and then the name of the transferee unit or individual shall be stated. In this way, the name of the inventor will inevitably appear in the patent literature. The patent laws of most countries take another approach, stipulating that the right to apply for a patent for service invention belongs to the inventor's unit. In this case, the applicant indicated in the patent document is the inventor's unit, so it is necessary to set a separate description item in the patent document, indicating the name of the inventor or designer.
In China, the right to apply for a patent for a non-service invention-creation belongs to the inventor or designer, and the applicant can clearly state that he is the inventor or designer in the patent document. The right to apply for a patent for a service invention-creation shall be enjoyed by the unit to which the inventor or designer belongs. In this case, the name of the inventor or designer shall be filled in by the applicant. As for when the applicant should indicate the name of the inventor or designer, there is no provision in this article. Patent documents include requests, patent specifications, claims, etc. The format of the request for the patent for invention, utility model and design formulated by China National Intellectual Property Administration contains the name and address of the inventor or designer. Therefore, in China, when filing a patent application, the name and address of the inventor or designer should be filled in. If it is not filled in at the time of application, the applicant shall make corrections within the specified time limit after receiving the notice from China National Intellectual Property Administration. If the inventor or designer finds that the name or designation and serial number of the inventor or designer recorded in the application are wrong, he may request the applicant to correct it to the China National Intellectual Property Administration applicant.
The inventor or designer specified in the patent document in accordance with the provisions of this article shall be the real inventor or designer. The so-called real inventor or designer refers to a person who has made creative contributions to the substantive characteristics of invention and creation. In the process of completing the invention-creation, a person who is only responsible for organizing the work, providing convenience for the use of material conditions or engaging in other auxiliary work cannot be recognized as an inventor or designer. Where the applicant lists a person who is not an inventor or designer as an inventor or designer, or omits a real inventor or designer, the inventor or designer may request the applicant to file an application for amendment to China National Intellectual Property Administration. If negotiation fails, the actual inventor or designer may request the administrative department for patent work to handle it or bring a lawsuit in a people's court.
According to this article, it is the right of the inventor or designer to sign the patent document. Therefore, if the inventor or designer voluntarily waives this right and asks not to sign the patent document, it shall be allowed. However, in order to avoid disputes afterwards, this voluntary waiver should be declared in writing by the inventor or designer. In addition, if the contract signed by the inventor or designer with the research and design client or the unit to which he belongs violates the provisions of this article, or if the inventor or designer abandons the right of authorship due to the fraud or coercion of the other party, these agreements shall be deemed invalid.