Research On The Judicial Rules Of Divided Infringement Of Method Patents In The United States

Technological changes have raised new issues for the US patent system,and the issue of determination about the divided infringement of method patent is one of them.In a word,in the field of cloud computing technology,many patents are typical "multi-agent implementation" method patents,Multiple entities need to work together to fully implement the patented technical solution.There is no single entity that implements a complete patent,but the combined actions of each entity cover all the technical features described in the patent claims involved.For patentees,the technical features described in the claims are fully implemented by multiple subjects,and their interests are harmed;but from the perspective of patent infringement,based on the existing patent infringement determination rules in the United States,there is no single subject to implement all technical features,the determination of direct infringement are blocked,and then the application of indirect infringement becomes difficult or controversial.In the early common law era,Agency Rule,Some Connection Rule,and the Control or Direct Rule,all are the results of the exploration of American judicial practice.Perfect rules provide guidance for the United States to resolve related issues.Similarly,from the perspective of the applicability of China’s existing legal resources and the current state of justice,it’s not difficult to find China also faces the same difficulties.So it’s necessary to take the relevant US legislation and jurisprudence as the starting point,systematically sort out the referee rules of divided infringement of method patents in the United States,and unveil the mystery of divided infringement of method patent,providing inspiration for China to solve related problems.The four parts of the paper are as follows:The first part is an overview of the divided infringement of US method patents.This chapter begins with the concept and characteristics of method patent divided infringement,and analyzes the reasons for this problem from the legal and technical levels,and then demonstrates the necessity of clear decision rules of divided infringement of method patent.The second part systematically analyzes the dilemma of the application of traditional American infringement determination rules to divided infringement of method patent.Because no single subject has implemented all the claims,the rules of direct infringement can’t be used.In addition,as an expanded protection of patent rights,American judicial practice adopts indirect infringement rules strictly.Among them,there are "independent theory" and "subordinate theory" regarding the damage consequences of indirect infringement.In the dispute,because there is no direct infringement in the method patent separation infringement case,the application of indirect infringement is also disputed.The third part systematically analyzes the exploration and evolution of the US decision rules about divided infringement of method patent.The relationship between subjects is the key to solve problems.The Agency Rule focus on examining the "control relationship" between the implementing subjects;Some Connection Rule focus on examining the "contact volume" between the subjects to prove whether there are "certain connections",Regarding the Control or Direct Rule,it has absorbed the "agent relationship","contract relationship",and "affiliated enterprises" of the early results,determining the "mastermind" among many actors,it also breaks through the "mastermind" idea,when one implementing subject establishes the time and method of implementing patent steps by other subjects,it may also constitute a control relationship.The fourth part returns to the suggestion of the referee rules of method patent infringement in our country.The goal of the research on referee rules of divided infringement of America is to solve related problems of our country.Existing legal systems,such as China’s “Patent Law” and “Infringement Liability Law” have unavoidable limitations in dealing with the issue of method patent separation infringement.It can be seen that the loopholes in China’s legal system have led to the “dilemma” of judicial trials.There is no clear distinction between joint infringement and substantial direct infringement.In practice,the embarrassing situation of constantly strengthening protection and neglecting protection and different judgments in the same case is constantly emerging.The control or direct rule embodies the idea of attribution of substantial direct infringement,which meets the basic requirements of the principle of comprehensive coverage of patent infringement determination in China.The qualitative nature of the infringement is in line with the theory of balance of interests in China’s patent system,so China can introduce the rule to solve related problems.