1. Is the patent license contract valid after the patent right expires?
According to the Civil Law, when the patentee licenses a patent, the patent license contract is only valid during the duration of the patent right. Where the term of validity of the patent right expires or the patent right is declared invalid, the patentee may not conclude a patent licensing contract with others for the patent.
Article 865 of the Civil Code of People's Republic of China (PRC) stipulates that the patent licensing contract is only valid during the duration of the patent right. Where the term of validity of the patent right expires or the patent right is declared invalid, the patentee may not conclude a patent licensing contract with others for the patent.
Second, the way of patent licensing
1, exclusive authorization. It means that in the time and area agreed by the obligee and the licensee in the contract, only the licensee is allowed to implement its patented technology, and no one else may exercise its patented technology. In this case, the patentee also lost the right to use his patented technology in the designated time and region.
2. Exclusive license. It means that only the patentee and the licensed user have the right to use the patent within the time and region agreed in the contract, and no one else has the right to use the patent.
3, general license, also known as general license, non-exclusive license. It means that the obligee and the licensee can use the patent, and the obligee can also allow a third person to use the patent.
4. Sub-licensing. It means that both the patentee and the licensed user can use their patents, and both the patentee and the licensed user have the right to allow others to use their patents.
5. Cross licensing, also known as mutual licensing.
Three, the main obligations of the licensee in the patent licensing contract
(a) the main obligations of the transferor
1. License the transferee to exploit the patent within the scope agreed in the contract. Licensor shall maintain the validity of the patent right within the validity period of the contract and pay the annual patent fee on schedule. Otherwise, if the patentee fails to pay the annual fee as required, the patent right will be terminated in advance. The annual patent fee shall be paid by the transferor (patentee). The transferor maintains the validity of the patent right by paying the annual fee, thus fulfilling the obligation of licensing the transferee to exploit the patent in the contract.
2. As part of the contract, deliver the technical materials for patent implementation and provide necessary technical guidance. Technical data for the implementation of the patent, including design documents, charts, etc. The provision of necessary technical guidance by the Transferor to the Transferee refers to helping the Transferee to solve the problems in the implementation of the patented technology according to the contract, including assisting in installation, debugging and personnel training.
(2) The main obligations of the transferee
1. Pay the usage fee in the amount and manner agreed in the contract. Paying royalties is the transferee's main obligation.
2. To exploit the patent within the scope agreed in the contract, that is, to manufacture, use or sell the patented product or use the patented method within the permitted time limit, area and mode. No third party may exploit the patent except as agreed in the contract.
According to Article 868 of the General Principles of the Civil Law of People's Republic of China (PRC), the transferor of the technology secret transfer contract and the transferor of the technology secret use license contract shall provide technical information, provide technical guidance, ensure the practicability and reliability of the technology, and undertake the obligation of confidentiality.
The confidentiality obligation stipulated in the preceding paragraph shall not restrict Licensor from applying for a patent, unless otherwise agreed by both parties.
Legal objectivity:
Article 865 of the Civil Code of People's Republic of China (PRC) * * * The patent licensing contract is only valid within the patent term. Where the term of validity of the patent right expires or the patent right is declared invalid, the patentee may not conclude a patent licensing contract with others for the patent. Article 866 of the General Principles of the Civil Law of People's Republic of China (PRC) The licensor of a patent exploitation license contract shall license the licensee to exploit the patent in accordance with the agreement, deliver the technical data related to the exploitation of the patent, and provide necessary technical guidance. Article 867 of the Civil Code of People's Republic of China (PRC) The licensee of a patent exploitation license contract shall exploit the patent in accordance with the agreement, and shall not license a third party other than the agreement to exploit the patent and pay the royalties in accordance with the agreement.