Distributors should also be responsible for product appearance patent infringement.
There are two cases of suspected brand counterfeiting:
In the first case, if the counterfeit product is a product with an unregistered trademark, it constitutes a confusing act, which belongs to the category of unfair competition and should be held responsible according to the Anti-Unfair Competition Law.
Article 6 of the Anti-Unfair Competition Law stipulates that business operators shall not commit the following confusing acts, which may make people mistakenly think that they are other people's goods or have specific connections with others:
(a) unauthorized use of the same or similar marks in the name, packaging and decoration of goods that have certain influence on others.
Article 18 stipulates that if an operator violates the provisions of Article 6 of this Law and has confused behavior, the supervision and inspection department shall order him to stop the illegal behavior and confiscate the illegal goods. If the illegal business amount is more than 50 thousand yuan, a fine of less than 5 times the illegal business amount may be imposed; If there is no illegal business amount or the illegal business amount is less than 50 thousand yuan, a fine of less than 250 thousand yuan may be imposed. If the circumstances are serious, the business license shall be revoked.
In the second case, if a counterfeit product is recognized as a registered trademark, it is an infringement of the exclusive right to use a registered trademark, and it shall bear the responsibilities stipulated in the Trademark Law.
Article 57 of the Trademark Law stipulates that any of the following acts is an infringement of the exclusive right to use a registered trademark: (2) Using a trademark similar to its registered trademark on the same commodity without the permission of the trademark registrant, or using a trademark identical to or similar to its registered trademark on similar commodities, which is likely to cause confusion.
Article 60 stipulates that if one of the acts listed in Article 57 of this Law infringes on the exclusive right to use a registered trademark and causes disputes, the parties concerned shall settle them through consultation; Unwilling to negotiate or failing to negotiate, the trademark registrant or interested party may bring a lawsuit to the people's court or request the administrative department for industry and commerce to handle it.
When the administrative department for industry and commerce finds that the infringement is established, it shall be ordered to immediately stop the infringement, confiscate and destroy the infringing goods and tools mainly used to manufacture infringing goods and forge registered trademarks. If the illegal business amount is more than 50,000 yuan, a fine of less than five times the illegal business amount may be imposed; if there is no illegal business amount or the illegal business amount is less than 50,000 yuan, a fine of less than 250,000 yuan may be imposed.
Second, how to deal with product appearance patent infringement
Product appearance patent infringement shall be liable for compensation. According to the law of our country, the amount of compensation for patent infringement should be determined according to the actual loss suffered by the obligee due to infringement. If the actual loss is difficult to determine, it can be determined according to the interests obtained by the infringer due to infringement. If it is difficult to determine the loss of the obligee or the interests of the infringer, it shall be reasonably determined by reference to the multiple of the patent license fee. The amount of compensation shall also include the reasonable expenses paid by the obligee to stop the infringement. If it is difficult to determine the loss of the obligee, the benefits obtained by the infringer and the patent license fee, the people's court may determine the compensation of more than 1 10,000 yuan and less than1100,000 yuan according to the type of patent right, the nature and circumstances of the infringement.
Third, the judging principles of appearance patent infringement
(1) principle of universal coverage
The principle of universal application is one of the most basic principles for judging patent infringement. The so-called universal application principle means that if the accused object or method is infringed, then the product or method should have every feature described in the patent claim and be indispensable. When judging patent infringement, the principle of universal coverage should be applied first. In the following cases, it is considered that the defendant has completely covered the claim.
1, literal infringement. In other words, through literal analysis and comparison, it can be concluded that the technical characteristics of the defendant are the same as the necessary characteristics of the patent. For example, a patent claims protection: H-shaped strong magnetic field magnetized cup (1), which is characterized by embedding two permanent magnets (2) on both sides of the cup. If permanent magnets are embedded on both sides of the cup of the controlled object, it can be seen that the structure of the controlled object is exactly the same as that described in the claims.
2. This patent claim uses the upper concept, and the structure disclosed by the defendant belongs to the specific concept in the upper concept. In this case, the principle of universal coverage is applicable and the defendant infringes. For example, a patent claims that a new robot walking mechanism is characterized in that a motor is connected with a transmission mechanism, and the output shaft of the transmission mechanism is provided with a driving wheel. The structure of the controlled object is that the motor is driven by a gear and the output shaft is equipped with a driving wheel. The defendant used gear transmission, and the structure of gear transmission belongs to the specific concept of "transmission mechanism", so the defendant belongs to infringement.
(2) The principle of reciprocity
The principle of equivalence holds that if the technical composition of the alleged infringement is compared with the corresponding technical features recorded in the patent claim, if ordinary technicians in this technical field can associate it without creative intellectual labor after studying the patentee's instructions and claims, such as using alternative means such as equivalent replacement, component replacement, decomposition or merger to realize the invention purpose and positive effect of the patent, and comparing it with the patented technology, the infringement is deemed to be established.
For example, a patent claims to protect a mobile mechanism of a robot, which is characterized in that:
It has six driving arms evenly distributed along the circumferential direction, and motors are arranged in the driving arms, and the motors are connected with driving wheels at the ends of the driving arms through gear transmission. The structure of the controlled object is that there are six driving arms evenly distributed along the circumferential direction, and motors are installed in the driving arms, which are connected with the driving wheels at the ends of the driving arms through chain transmission. The defendant lacks the characteristics of gear transmission in the patent claim, but because the chain transmission belongs to the equivalent substitution of gear transmission, the defendant applies the principle of equivalence, which belongs to infringement.
The above gives you a detailed introduction to the relevant knowledge about product appearance patent infringement. Does the distributor bear legal responsibility? For product appearance patent infringement, dealers need to bear corresponding legal responsibilities to protect the legitimate rights and interests of consumers. If you have any other legal questions, please feel free to consult. We will have a professional lawyer to answer your questions.