Research On The Judgment Of Multi-actor Method Patent Infringement

Multi-actor method patent is quite special,because of the complicated communication between actors.The direct infringer is the actor,who deliberately directs or controls other actors’ behavior,and leads to the implement of all method patent steps,and other multi-actors’ behavior should be imputed to the infringer.Whoever offers an important component,shall be liable as a contributory infringer,also known as the indirect infringer.Indirect patent infringement should be attached to direct infringement,and only include contributory infringement,to meet the requirements of:the subjective knowledge of direct infringement,expectation of the occurrence of direct infringement,and objectively providing substantial non-infringing-use component.Indirect patent infringement is a refinement of joint infringement in the field of intellectual property,which does not affect the determination of general aiding and abetting.And the indirect patent infringement should only contain contributory infringement,but when to add the article in the Patent law is still to be very cautious.Besides,the general joint tort in Civil Code can still be applicable in multi-actor method patent infringement because of the consideration of technology particularity and interests balance.The main body of this article is divided into three chapters:Chapter Ⅰ points out a basic elaboration on the dilemma of the determination of multi-actor method patent infringement in China.The current diagnose is based on the principle of direct infringement that applies to full coverage principle,and supplements the judgment of the general joint tort in Civil Code through judicial interpretation.There are four rules for the determination of infringement: direct infringement,joint infringement and indirect infringements in judicial practice.A dispute over the infringement of an invention patent,the Supreme People’s Court creatively set up the irreplaceable-substantial-role test for determining direct infringement of patent.But in reality,these rules are misused and lead to huge confusion.Chapter Ⅱ mainly analyses the four rules of determination of infringement: direct infringement,joint infringement,indirect infringements and irreplaceable-substantialrole test.The judgment of direct infringement should firstly define the infringer who are accountable.Indirect patent infringement is a refinement of joint infringement in the field of intellectual property,which does not affect the determination of general aiding and abetting.For other torts that do not involve substantial non-infringing use,it is necessary to judge whether they constitute aiding and abetting torts or aiding torts from the perspective of tort liability law.Chapter Ⅲ mainly concludes theoretical analysis and make some legislative suggestions.I integrate the above each identified path,and then clarify the multi-actor method patent infringement to determine the internal logic of system,according to the existing legislation.And based on this,I make some suggestions on the rules of infringement.To be specific,in order to improve the direct infringement rule,irreplaceable-substantive-role should be added in the judicial interpretation or legislative level.The contributory infringement system should also be added in the legislative level.The multiple infringers in Tort Law should be regarded as a general clause to regulate the multi-actor method patent infringement which does not involve the key patent steps.