When it comes to patents, many people have a headache because they are too professional and obscure. How is the scope of patent protection determined? With a patent, is it automatically possible to produce and sell patented products? In addition to protecting independent innovation, does applying for a patent have any other effect?
Zhang San has a patent for a stool. This stool is very simple, and the patent is also very simple. A stool includes: a seat; and four supporting parts connected to the seat and supported on the ground. Support legs.
Zhang San’s stools sold very well in the market, but after a while, Li Si found that it was uncomfortable to sit on the stool for a long time. If there was a backrest on the stool, it would be better to sit on it. It was more comfortable, so Li Si invented the chair and prepared to apply for a patent. The improvement of the chair compared to the stool was that it had an extra backrest. Of course, the chair also had a seat and four supporting legs.
Now questions arise:
1. Can Li Si apply for a patent for a chair?
Yes!
Applying for a patent does not require that the technological innovation solution be an original invention. Improvements based on existing products or existing technologies can also be patented. In fact, original inventions or basic inventions are rare, especially today as science and technology become increasingly developed. Most inventions are improvements based on existing technologies, as Newton said "Why I can see further than others is because I stand on the shoulders of giants." Why can a chair be patented? Because the existing stool has no backrest, which makes it uncomfortable for people to sit on it for a long time, in order to solve this problem, a backrest is added and turned into a chair. This is the innovation of the chair, so the chair can apply for a patent.
For the same reason, in our R&D work, most of the work is also based on improvements based on existing technology to make product performance better, cost lower, production more efficient, etc. These research and development results can be patented if they have a certain degree of creativity. On the contrary, in actual work, there is a chance to invent a completely new product, but the probability is relatively small. Therefore, in research and development, don’t think that your innovations are inconspicuous and that small inventions can solve big problems. How to protect your invention? It is still most secure to apply for a patent.
2. Can Li Si produce and sell chairs?
No!
Many people are confused. Since I have applied for a patent, why can’t I produce it myself? From the perspective of patent infringement, as long as a product includes all the technical features claimed in the prior patent, it falls within the scope of protection of the patent. For a chair, although a backrest is added, it also includes a seat and four supporting legs. That is, the chair includes all the constituent elements of a stool, so it falls within the patent protection scope of the stool. Therefore, it can be said that , if Li Si produces and sells chairs, it will infringe the stool patent.
However, further speaking, since John Doe owns the patent for the chair, others, including the patentee of the stool, cannot produce the chair without John Doe's consent, otherwise they will infringe on John Doe's chair. patent. For John Doe, although he cannot produce chairs, he has the "monopoly" of chairs because he owns the patent for chairs.
3. Why did Li Si apply for a chair patent?
Obviously, Li Si spent money to apply for a patent not just to have a nominal monopoly, but to produce and sell chairs and gain profits from them. However, due to the existence of the patent for stools, Li Si cannot produce and sell them. Chair, what’s the point of Li Si applying for a patent?
Because the chairs are more comfortable to sit on, the market for chairs will definitely be very good and the profits will be considerable. At this time, Li Si was thinking: If I can produce and sell chairs, I will definitely make good profits, but because of the stool patent, I cannot produce chairs. Zhang San is also thinking: The market and profit of chairs must be better than my stools. If I can produce and sell chairs, I will definitely get good returns. However, since Li Si has a patent for chairs, I cannot produce and sell chairs.
Both Zhang San and Li Si are thinking that if we cooperate, we will definitely succeed. How to cooperate? There are several options:
1. Zhang San authorizes Li Si to use the stool patent, that is, Li Si can produce chairs, and Li Si pays Zhang San a certain amount of stool patent royalties;
2. Li Si authorizes Zhang San to use the chair patent, that is, Zhang San can produce chairs, and Zhang San pays Li Si a certain chair patent royalty;
3. Zhang San and Li Si carry out the patent Cross-licensing means that Zhang San authorizes Li Si to use the stool patent, and Li Si also authorizes Zhang San to use the chair patent. In this way, Zhang San can produce both stools and chairs, and Li Si can also produce stools and chairs.
Of course, there are many other cooperation plans. No matter which cooperation plan, both Zhang San and Li Si are happy, because they can get benefits from their respective patents, so that the benefits of the patents will be apparent. came out.
At this time, Wang Wuyi saw that the market for chairs was so good and wanted to produce and sell chairs. However, due to the existence of patents for stools and chairs, he had no choice but to obtain the patent license from Zhang San and Li Si. However, Zhang San and Li Si Said: Sorry, only we can produce and sell stools and chairs, and no one else can discuss them. Wang Wu had no choice but to worry, but he had no choice, because he did not have a patent, so he had no way to negotiate with others, nor could he cross-license patents like Zhang San and Li Si did.
Four. What should I do with Wang Wu?
Since the market for stools and chairs is good, Wang Wu has always wanted to enter this market, but he cannot get the patent authorization from Zhang San and Li Si. What should Wang Wu do? There are also ways:
1. Wang Wu can continue to conduct research and improvements on the basis of stools and chairs. For example, a chair only has a backrest. If I can continue to add armrests to the chair and turn it into an armchair, which will make the user more comfortable, Wang Wu can apply for a patent for the armchair. Continue to make improvements. If the backrest of the chair can be improved to lay flat, the chair can become a multifunctional recliner. Wang Wu can continue to apply for a patent for the recliner.
Since the market for armchairs and recliners will be huge, if Zhang San and Li Si want to produce armchairs and recliners, then Wang Wu will have a bargaining chip. In this way, the above story will repeat itself. .
2. Wang Wu can study the patents of Zhang San and Li Si and design around them. For example, the patents of Zhang San and Li Si both say that a stool or chair has four legs, then If the stools and chairs designed by me, Wang Wu, have three legs, they will not infringe on their patents. Can you analyze whether the following solutions infringe on the patents of Zhang San and Li Si?
Summary:
1. The original intention of patents is to protect inventions and creations, but with market competition, patents have become one of the strategies for business competition. Only by owning patents can you have a voice. right. Patent is a kind of business game. If you don’t have a patent, you may not even be qualified to make games.
2. In addition to protecting independent innovation achievements, patents can also be used as a bargaining chip for cross-licensing and negotiations with others.
3. Patent protection and patent-avoidance design have always been in a contradictory relationship. How can we use patents to protect our innovations as much as possible and avoid being circumvented by others? How to find ways to avoid other people's patents? This pair of contradictions always prompts us to use our brains, and it is precisely this pair of contradictory relationships that prompts us to continuously carry out technological innovation. Therefore, although spears and shields take different paths, they achieve the same goal. To paraphrase a philosophical saying: Contradiction is the driving force for the development of things.