Research On �For Production Or Business Purpose� In Patent Law

Article 11 of Patent Law regulates the �for production or business purposes�,it is an important limitation condition for the enforcement of patents,but it has not received any attention from theory and judicial practices.The define of �purpose for production and business� in trial practice has always been controversial and even contradictory.Moreover,with the development of science and technology,3D printing poses greater challenges to the identification of �for production or business purposes�.This article analyzes the related or similar provisions in the domestic or overseas laws and regulations with the connotation of �for production or business purposes�,and combines the research status of China's trial practice and theoretical circles,clarifies the meaning of �for production and management�.Exploring the legislator's pursuit of �for production or business purposes� as a constituent element of patent infringement.Through the statistics and analysis of many domestic judicial cases,discusses the major controversial issues,clarifies whether units or individuals can apply �non-for production or business purposes� defenses and their scope of application.Based on these discussions,put forward some legal improvements.In addition to the introduction,the article is divided into four parts:The first part reviews the regulations for �for production or business purpose� in Chinese law,and introduces foreign countries' similar provisions and basic understanding of the issue.Relevant legal norms have many references to �for production or business purpose� in Chinese law,but they do not define the specific meanings,resulting in greater disagreement between judicial practice and theoretical circles,and it is difficult to unify it.Some countries have similar regulations for �for production or business purposes�,but they are different in their expressions,so the scope of their connotations are different.In other countries,certain specific behaviors are often excluded from the scope of patent rights by using patent exceptions.There is a situation similar to our country's �non-for production or business purposes�,and their provisions can be summarized as �privately and for non-commercial purpose�,but the meaning is also not defined.The second part exemplifies all the cases in which the defendant in recent years used �non-for production or business purposes� as a defense grounds.Through the classification of the defendant in the cases,combines with the defense's reasons and the court's point of view,summaries the judgment of the court in judicial practice and major dispute in the case.First,can an enterprise claim a �consumer behavior� defense? Second,administrative agencies and public institutions exercise their functions of managing society,it is not profitable,or the enforcement of patent defenses for the public interest;third,natural persons(individuals)Whether industrial and commercial households can defend with �non-for production or business objectives�.The third part combines the understanding of �for production or business purpose� in the domestic theoretical circle,and explain the scope of �for production or business purpose� for different subjects.The theoretical community has two types of understanding of �for production or business purpose�,one type of �thinking �for production or business purposes' should be understood broadly,including not only industrial and agricultural production,but also commerce,service,and other undertakings�.Another type of combination of foreign regulations imposes similar limits on the scope of patent rights for �privately and for non-commercial purpose�.According to the classification of subjects in the second part of the case analysis,the controversial issues in practice are discussed.Enterprises,administrative agencies,institutions,and natural persons can become the main bodies of �production and management�.Enterprises cannot use �consumer behavior� as a defense for production or business purposes;administrative agencies cannot defend �for production or business purposes� with social management functions and public purposes;institutions cannot defend �for production or business purposes� with public interests;Individuals and commercial households cannot be used as natural persons to apply for defenses that are not �for production or business purposes�.The fourth part is the improvement of legislative proposals.This article proposes to directly adopt foreign �privately and for non-commercial purpose� rules instead of �for production or business purposes� in Patent Law.This regulation is more easy to keep the interests' balance between the creators and consumers,not only for the purpose of enjoying the innovation of the public,but also can not impair the innovation enthusiasm of the inventor.It makes the definition of �for production or business purposes� clearer and more practical in practice.The fifth part is a summary of the full text.