Is invalid patent still useful?

The first utility of invalid patent: any unit or individual can use it for free, thus obtaining economic benefits. Patent right, as a kind of industrial property right, is the exclusive right granted by the Patent Office to patent inventors and designers for their inventions and creations. Patent right is a kind of property right, which is exclusive. Without the permission of the patentee, no unit or individual may exploit its patent. The patent that has been declared invalid has lost this right, that is, it has lost the patent protection stipulated in the patent law, and any unit or individual can use it free of charge.

The second utility of invalid patents: any unit or individual can improve invalid patents and implement them free of charge. In the patent licensing trade, there is a way: the patentee of the original invention and the patentee of the improved invention need to reach an agreement, because the innovator is an improvement on the basis of the original invention, and the innovator must pay a certain patent technology use fee to the original inventor during the implementation process (including self-implementation and technology transfer). For example, suppose there is no cup for water. A invented the cup, B improved the cup A and added the handle. The cup with handle will improve the function of the cup: it is convenient to take water; A cup filled with hot water is not afraid of scalding. However, it is impossible for the handle to exist independently from the cup, otherwise the function of the handle will be lost. That is to say, B has improved A's invention and made a new invention, and it is impossible to be separated from A's invention. If A's invention becomes an invalid patent, there is no need to pay A patent technology use fee after B's improvement is implemented.

The similarity between the first utility model and the second utility model is that anyone can use invalid patents for free. Difference: the first utility, anyone directly implements invalid patents; The second utility is to improve invalid patents before implementation.