E-participation and e-participants: solving the patent ‘crisis’

One of the major planks of some visions for E-Gov is that there is a willing participatory group who are more than happy to be involved in new forms of democracy and will be active and useful suppliers of input to e-consultation or e-participation processes. This group is different from that which goes online to the government website and signs a petition asking the prime minister to resign. It is becoming clear, though, that the commitment to e-participation may well be there in theory, but difficult to access in practice. Further, the participation that is most welcome can frequently require training and expertise that is not widely available or there may be differences in opinion as to the point of participation. In this paper I will look to the attempts to encourage participation in the patent system. The UK has initiated a trial system utilising New York Law School's Peer-To-Patent project, but has also attempted to involve participants in previous consultation exercises. I will use these as demonstrations of the sorts of problems that e-participation has met, and consider whether this new form of E-Gov is perhaps being oversold. The interesting question is whether participation is a growing tool that can ensure better public services from the State. My conclusion is that consultation and participatory projects can demonstrate involvement and are certainly educative, but e-participatory projects are most likely incapable of achieving the goals set by their more optimistic advocates. The paper emphasises the patents field, but the lessons from it can – I suggest – be viewed as indicators having wider governance relevance. The primary point being made is that the technocratic view is always over-optimistic.     

论发挥政府作用化解专利权质押风险

中小企业经营过程中始终存在着资金的需求,专利权质押融资是中小企业现实的融资方式。专利权具有价值、使用价值和可转让性,然而,由于专利权质押融资风险大,融资难,不能满足中小企业发展需要,目前的制度不足以化解风险,鉴于中小企业具有公共产品的性质,政府有必要利用自己在信用、资金以及信息方面的优势,通过规范专利权评估、健全产权交易市场、提供信用担保,进行收益控制等手段,化解专利权质押风险,以促成中小企业融资。     

浅谈等同原则在变劣发明侵权诉讼中的适用

变劣发明通常是改变专利的某些技术特征从而使其效果和功能都不如专利产品的发明，变劣发明能否适用等同原则认定为侵权一直是司法实务中的一个争议，文章从案例入手对等同原则和变劣发明进行分析，认为变劣发明不应适用等同原则认定为侵权。     

Reflection of the Examination System of Utility Model from Ineffective Patents:Empirical Research in Zhejiang Province

In recent years, China's utility model patent applications have been growing, yet the patent effective amount has not been keeping the same pace. There are still a lot of ineffective utility model patents. For this problem, this paper analyzes the ineffective patent information of Zhejiang Province and finds that most of the ineffective utility model patents are abnormal ineffective patents. Further detailed analysis shows that the root cause for the result is the low quality of the authorized utility model patent. The key factor that influences the authorized quality of utility model patent is the examination system of the utility model patent. The defects in relevant laws and regulations in the examination system of the utility model patent are the major obstacle to the actual realization of the requirements of the patent. On this basis, this paper compares the examination system of the utility model with those in other countries, draws lessons from them, and puts forward corresponding suggestions.     

影响发明或实用新型专利权稳定性的实质因素

有关专利权稳定性的问题，在实践中表现为：一方面是，申请人不正当地将不符合专利法要求的技术方案拿来申请并获得专利权；另一方面是，审查过程中，由于制度方面的因素，将不应当授权的技术方案错误地授予专利权，造成了劣质专利的泛滥。深入研究专利权稳定性问题，探索提高专利权稳定性的有效途径，具有重要的理论和现实意义。     

著作权法保护软件的质疑与应策

软件是作品的一种形式,但又不同于传统意义上的作品。除具有作品的一般特征之外,软件还具有高度的技术性、工具性等特征。那么,保护作品的著作权法用来保护软件就产生性质矛盾而受到质疑,与此同时专利法、商标法等保护软件的可能性被提上了日程。     

票据行为性质之我见

票据行为是票据法的理论基础,其性质如何,各国立法和理论向来存在争议。关于票据行为性质的各种学说,发行说较为可取。但为保护善意第三人利益,各种学说都需要与权利外观理论相结合,以维护交易安全。     

中国专利强制许可制度的完善

专利强制许可制度是保护社会公众利益和防止滥用专利垄断权的重要手段。TRIPS协议允许WTO的成员在一定情况下使用专利强制许可制度。我国社会保障制度不健全,现行立法对专利强制许可制度的使用限制亦过严,没有充分利用WTO规则所赋予的灵活性,许多规定甚至超过TRIPS协议的要求。这种状况与我国的经济发展水平和社会公共利益需要不相适应,有必要通过修订法律加以完善。     

TRIPS协定之下的中国药品专利保护立法

我国现行的药品专利保护制度规定过于严格,没有充分利用TRIPS协定的弹性条款。经过《多哈宣言》和《关于实施TRIPS协定与公共健康多哈宣言第六段的决议》以及争端解决机制的解释和检验,TRIPS协定原本模糊的保障措施在可操作性上获得了提高。我国的相关立法应当适时进行相应地调整,以充分利用TRIPS协定保障措施所给予的空间,实现对我国专利药品的全面保护,提高药品的可及性,促进民族制药行业的发展。     

专利侵权救济中永久禁令的法律工具化诠释——以解读“专利渔翁”为中心

＂专利渔翁＂是当今专利领域面临的国际化难题。＂专利渔翁＂的存在本质上实为专利侵权救济中永久禁令的法律工具化结果。具体而言,＂专利渔翁＂是基于专利强势保护趋势盛行、专利爆炸性增长、专利质量急剧下降和专利赔偿溢价猛增等因素而产生,其负面影响渐次扩大,日益威胁到社会实体经济产业的发展、危害到技术创新的效率、阻碍了＂专利丛林＂问题的解决。对＂专利渔翁＂进行理论分析和实证研究是寻求制度上应对策略的必然之举,同时也有助于专利救济理论体系的重塑和禁令制度的优化。