It mainly examines whether the transferor belongs to the legal right holder of the patent right, whether the validity of the patent has passed the substantive examination, and whether it is possible to be revoked or declared invalid.
Second, the patent transfer agreement terms review
1. The preface should state that the transferor has a patent right, which must be consistent with the legal documents of the transferred patent. The patent shall be marked with the patent number, WeChat official account, announcement number, application date, authorization date, publication date and the validity period of the patent right, and shall be consistent with the legal documents for the transfer of the patent. At the same time, it shall explain the transferee's intention to transfer the patent and the transferee.
2. When the transferor delivers materials to the transferee, the materials to be delivered shall be listed in detail, such as all patent application documents submitted to the China Patent Office, all documents issued by the China Patent Office to the transferor, patent licensing contracts that the transferor has licensed others to use, certification documents issued by the China Patent Office that the patent right is valid, and transfer approval documents issued by the higher authorities or relevant authorities in the State Council. After agreeing to this article, it can be listed as an attachment.
3. Time, place and method of information transmission
(1) The delivery time can be determined by both parties through consultation. In practice, it is agreed to pay transfer fees before delivery, and it is also agreed to deliver after the agreement takes effect. In the case of partial delivery, attention should be paid to the delivery time of the remaining materials to avoid the transferor's delay in delivery and affect the implementation of the patent.
(2) The submission method can be in person, registered mail or airmail. Because there are many patent documents, which involve trade secrets, in order to avoid disputes, it is suggested that the list of documents and materials should be delivered in person, and the signatures should be checked.
③ The place of delivery is the location of the transferee (transferor) or the place agreed by both parties.
4, patent implementation and licensing and disposal methods
Because before the patent transfer, the transferor is often already implementing or licensing others to implement the patent, it is necessary to clearly stipulate the implementation, licensing and disposal methods of the patent. In practice, if the transferor has implemented the patent before the signing of this agreement, the transferor may continue to implement or stop implementing the patent after the signing of this agreement takes effect. The rights and obligations of the licensing contract that the transferor has licensed others to implement before the signing of this agreement shall be transferred to the transferee from the effective date of the signing of this agreement.
5. transfer fees and payment method: Both parties clearly agree on transfer fees, with clear currency and the same amount. The terms of payment can be negotiated by both parties. The transferor may demand payment when the contract comes into effect or before the delivery of the materials, the transferee may demand payment after the delivery of the materials or after the announcement of the Patent Office, and both parties may also agree to pay by installments.
6. The patent is revoked and declared invalid.
(1) According to the provisions of Article 47 of the Patent Law, the decision to declare the patent right invalid has no retrospective effect on the patent infringement judgment and conciliation statement made and executed by the people's court before the patent right was declared invalid, the executed or executed patent infringement dispute settlement decision, and the executed patent licensing contract and patent transfer contract. However, if the patentee's malice causes losses to others, it shall make compensation. If the patent infringement compensation, patent exploitation fee and patent transfer fee are not returned in accordance with the provisions of the preceding paragraph, which obviously violates the principle of fairness, they shall be returned in whole or in part. "Therefore, we should pay attention to examine whether the patent has the possibility of being declared invalid.
(2) For the liability when the patent right is revoked, it should be clear whether it is necessary to return the transfer fee, patent information and compensate for the losses.
(3) When the Patent Reexamination Board declares the patent right invalid and refuses to accept the decision of the Reexamination Board (for the invention patent), who will be responsible for the defense and bear the expenses?
7. The transitional provisions shall stipulate who will maintain the validity of the patent and bear the expenses from the date of signing the agreement to the time of patent transfer. As follows:
(1) It is agreed that the transferor shall maintain the validity of the patent from the effective date of this agreement to the date of registration and announcement by the Patent Office, but it shall be clear who will pay the annual fee and renewal fee during this period.
(2) After this agreement is registered and announced in the Patent Office, who will be responsible for maintaining the validity of the patent, such as handling the annual patent fee, renewal fee, administrative revocation and defense of invalid requests, responding to invalid lawsuits, etc. (It may also be agreed that all expenses for maintaining the validity of the patent right shall be paid by the transferee after the signing of this contract. )
③ During the transition period, if the transferor or transferee cannot perform due to force majeure, this agreement shall be dissolved.
8. Taxes and fees: Who is responsible for paying the taxes and fees of the transfer fee involved in this agreement shall be agreed by both parties.
9. Liability for breach of contract
① The transferor shall pay attention to the liability for breach of contract for failing to deliver the patent materials and transfer procedures within the time limit.
② The transferee shall pay attention to the liability for breach of contract when it fails to pay the transfer fee.
10. For the solution of the dispute, in the case of fruitless negotiation, you can choose the patent administration organ, court or arbitration institution that is beneficial to you.
1 1, others and the entry into force of the agreement, for terms not specified in the first ten articles, such as patent consultation, guidance, training, etc. , can also be signed separately. According to Article 10 of the Patent Law, "the transfer of the patent right shall take effect from the date of registration."
Third, the legal risk review of the signing of the patent transfer agreement
The transfer of patent right means that the subject of patent right has changed. When signing a patent right transfer contract, we should pay attention to the following issues:
1. Ownership: First of all, it is necessary to search through legal status to confirm that it is a valid patent, as well as the legitimacy of the patent right held by the transferor and the legitimacy of the transfer;
2. Historical issues of patents: First, it is necessary to know whether a license contract was signed with others before the patent, whether the patentee implemented it by himself, and clarify the legal responsibilities and solutions of these issues;
3. Check the necessary legal documents: both parties to the patent right transfer must provide legal documents to prove their identity, and the approval documents of the state patent administration authorities must be submitted for overseas transfer;
4. The contract text produced by the national patent administration organ or other contract texts that conform to the patent law and relevant laws and can regulate the transfer of patent rights must be adopted;
5. The patent right transfer agreement shall be registered and announced by the State Patent Administration before it can take effect;
6. In view of the fact that the patent right transfer agreement is different from the general economic contract and technical contract, it involves the transfer of documents and technical data, the receipt of transfer fees, the change of patent ownership, etc. , it is suggested that you can consult professional intellectual property service agencies or entrust service agencies to help sign for it.