Criteria for judging the infringement of appearance patent

There are three steps to determine the infringement of a design patent: 1. To determine the scope of protection of a design patent, the pictures or photographs presented by the design patentee to the Patent Office when applying for a design patent shall prevail, including front view, top view and side view. Secondly, determine whether the patented product of design and the infringing product belong to the same or similar goods. Where a patented product of design has the same function and use as the product accused of infringement, it can be identified as the same or similar commodity. Thirdly, compare the design patent with the accused infringing product, and judge the patent design and the accused infringing product as a whole from the perspective of ordinary consumers. After comparison, the following three results may appear: (1) If the appearance design of the product accused of infringement is exactly the same as the patent, the former is considered to be within the scope of patent protection and the patent infringement is established; (2) The design of the accused infringing product is basically the same as the patent design in the main part, and the whole is similar. According to the principle of equivalence, the patent infringement may be established; (3) If the design of the accused infringing product is neither the same nor similar to the design of this patent as a whole, it is deemed that the accused infringing product has not fallen into the protection scope of the patent right, and the patent infringement is not established.