Patent Infringement System

The concept of indirect patent infringement expands patent protection by allowing an inventor to allege infringement when a third-party's product, used in a combination, results in a direct infringement. Indirect infringement allows action to be taken against products that, by themselves, may not directly infringe a patent's claims.The United States Congress codified the concept of indirect infringement in the 1952 revision of the Patent Act. Since then, the European Union and Japan have also adopted variations of the concept of indirect infringement.China's patent law, which first came into effect in 1985,contains no remedies for indirect patent infringement. Presently, indirect infringement remains a highly debated and misunderstood concept in China. However, direct infringement remedies alone are insufficient to protect an inventor. To further encourage economic development within China, penalties for types of indirect infringement must also exist.This paper has four parts.The first part discusses briefly the history of indirect infringement and compares the concept with legal definitions for direct infringement as well as contributory infringement.The second part compares the use of indirect infringement in foreign jurisdictions and analyzes how the United States doctrine has influenced the development of other patent laws, such as in the European Union and in Japan.The third part discusses the current situation in China and argues for the necessity of additional revisions to its patent law.The fourth part proposes specific changes to China's patent law in order to adopt the version of indirect infringement best suited for China. This section further discusses examples of what constitutes indirect infringement under the proposed legislation as well as the remedies that should be enacted.