Principle Of Patent Exhaustion

Patent right has been one of the most important achievements of modern legal innovation. The stimuli provided to the inventor is at the expense of the society's free utilization of knowledge. The Patent exhaustion principle is a significant implement for harmonize the tension and conflict between patentee and the social public with regard to innovative knowledge utilization incurred by the monopolization of patent. The purpose of this article is derived from the case of recycle Canon printer ink cartridge, that is analyzing and researching deeply and systematically on Patent exhaustion principle itself and its application,distinction between permitted repair and prohibited reconstruction.This paper combines the theoretical analysis and practical research together, except the introduction and concluding remarks, text part composes the main body of this thesis from four chapters:The summary of Patent exhaustion principle is introduced in chapter 1. This chapter discusses how exhaustion of patent right comes into being and why it is adopted in the laws of many countries. It also presents two main doctrines on this principle, Inherent Restriction Theory and Theory of Acquiescence.Chapter 2 is one of pivots of this thesis, the present legislation on application of our nation is studied here in detail. It compared the scope of patent with the restriction on patent, and validates the application of Patent exhaustion principle through practical case. The principle is only applied on patent product and the product directly produced by a patent, and is inapplicable under the circumstances that other patents related to product-patent. The customers must purchase the patent products from the patentee and the licencee and benefit from the Patent exhaustion principle.The another pivots of this paper is chapter 3, it expatiates the important application of application in practice, the disputed issue of how to distinguish repair and reconstruction. First, it analyses the causation of this issue, the significance of this distinction, present some concepts related this issue and its basis. Second, the author analyzes some American cases, concludes the four points of reconstruction on the basis of these cases and the theories expatiated above: in commercial purpose, worn as a whole, true reconstruction of entity, within the claims of the said patent. Lastly, according to these four points and the said theories, the author gives practical analysis to the case of recycle Canon printer ink cartridge.Depending on the discussions related Patent exhaustion principle above, the thesis summarizes the failures on legislation in chapter 4.And gives some advice in comprehension, legislation and justice.This paper is established in the present legislation of our nation, using the experience of foreign countries for reference, and analyzes on the difficulty and hotspot of patent law. It emphasizes the importance of this principle, especially its function in distinguishing repair and reconstruction, and advises amending the relevant rules, establish the standard of reconstruction in principle.