In practice, how to distinguish the types of patents?
1, invention patent
The definition of invention in the second paragraph of Article 2 of China's Patent Law is: "Invention refers to a new technical scheme proposed for a product, method or its improvement." Invention patents do not seek technical achievements that can be directly applied to industrial production through practice, but they can be solutions or ideas to technical problems and have the possibility of industrial application. However, this technical scheme or idea cannot be confused with simply putting forward a topic or idea, because it is simple.
How to distinguish the types of patents?
2. Patent for utility model
The definition of utility model in the third paragraph of Article 2 of China's Patent Law is: "Utility model refers to the shape, structure or combination of products.
A new technical scheme suitable for practical use. "Like an invention, the utility model protects a technical solution. However, the protection scope of utility model patent is narrow, which only protects new products with a certain shape or structure, and does not protect methods and substances without a fixed shape. The technical scheme of the utility model pays more attention to practicality, and its technical level is lower than that of the invention. Most countries' utility model patents protect relatively simple and improved technological inventions, which can be called "small inventions"
Utility model refers to a new practical technical scheme for the shape, structure or combination of products. The utility model patent can be granted without substantive examination, with relatively simple procedure and relatively low cost. Therefore, small inventions about tangible products such as daily necessities, machinery and electrical appliances are more suitable for applying for utility model patents.
3. Design patents
The fourth paragraph of Article 2 of China's Patent Law defines appearance design as: "Appearance design refers to a new design that is aesthetically pleasing and suitable for industrial application based on the shape, pattern or combination of products and the combination of colors, shapes and patterns." Article 23 of the patent law stipulates its authorization conditions: "the design with patent right does not belong to the existing design;" No unit or individual has filed an application with the patent administration department of the State Council for the same design before the application date, and it is recorded in the patent documents published after the application date. " "Compared with the existing design or the combination of existing design features, there should be obvious differences" and "the patent design shall not conflict with the legal rights that others have obtained before the filing date".
Appearance design is obviously different from invention and utility model. Appearance design focuses on the designer's understanding of a project.
The appearance of a product is an artistic and aesthetic creation, but this artistic creation is not a simple handicraft, it must be practical for industrial application. Design patents essentially protect artistic ideas, while invention patents and utility model patents protect technical ideas; Although the design and utility model are related to the shape of the product, they have different purposes. The purpose of the former is to make the appearance of the product beautiful, and the purpose of the latter is to make the product with appearance solve a technical problem. For example, if the shape, pattern and color of an umbrella are quite beautiful, it is necessary to apply for a design patent. If the structural design of the umbrella handle, umbrella rib and umbrella head is simple and reasonable, which can save materials and have durable functions, you should apply for a utility model.
Appearance design refers to a new design based on the shape, pattern or combination of products, as well as the combination of color, shape and pattern, which is aesthetic and suitable for industrial application. The object of design patent protection is the decorative or artistic design of the product, which can be a plane pattern or a three-dimensional shape, and more commonly, the combination of the two.