The regional nature of intellectual property rights refers to the geographical scope where intellectual property rights are protected by law, and the geographical limitations on which intellectual property rights are subject.
This legal feature of intellectual property is different from tangible property rights. That is to say, it has a strict territorial nature and its effect is limited to the territory of the country. Except for those signed by international conventions or bilateral reciprocal agreements, intellectual property rights have no extraterritorial effect. Other countries have no obligation to protect such rights. Anyone can freely use intellectual products in their own country without obtaining the consent of the right holder. There is no need to pay remuneration to the right holder, the right holder or his legal assignee who acquires intellectual property rights in a country.
Due to the unification and proximity of countries in some regions economically, politically and legally, the trend of unification and internationalization of the intellectual property system has become increasingly obvious, which has shaken the intellectual property rights to a certain extent. principle of geographical restriction.
The manifestation of regional characteristics in different “laws”
In terms of copyright law, although the culture and information dissemination methods of each country are different, the opposition of interests of each country is not obvious. Therefore, International copyright conventions can make substantive provisions on the establishment and validity of copyright. In this sense, its regional nature is not very strong, and its regional restrictions are looser.
In terms of trademark law, patent rights are highly competitive and the interests of various countries are strongly opposed. They are closely related to the country’s economic development and industrial policies. All countries emphasize the principle of regionality; trademark rights are closely related to anti-unfair competition. Like other symbols of commercial law norms, its main purpose is to maintain industrial order, and the conflict of interests between countries is not particularly serious. The territorial principle reflected in trademark law is also weaker.