Research On The Application Of The Evidence Disclosure System In Patent Infringement Litigation

In recent years,the number of patent infringement cases in China has increased year by year,and due to the non-materiality of the subject matter of patent rights and the professionalism and concealment of infringement,the problem of difficulty in collecting evidence has seriously troubled the adjudicators and parties.On the one hand,the legislation only clarifies that the principle of reversal of the burden of proof is applied in patent infringement cases of new product manufacturing methods,but not in patent infringement cases of non-new product manufacturing methods,which objectively results in the limitation of patentee’s ability to prove and often loses the case due to insufficient evidence;On the other hand,due to difficulties in obtaining evidence in patent infringement litigation,the proportion of statutory damages has increased year by year,which has seriously deviated from the original intention of the system.In addition,in some special patent infringement cases,the excessive burden of evidence collection by the patentee will often affect the normal trial of the case.As a result,the court began to explore the path of evidence collection,so as to improve the parties’ ability to collect evidence,promote the smooth progress of case hearing,further improve litigation efficiency and ensure the rational and efficient use of judicial resources.In the judicial practice of patent infringement litigation,on the basis of the evidence exchange rules,the court began to experiment with the evidence disclosure rules of common law countries to assist the parties in collecting key evidence and promote the normal conduct of judicial litigation activities.Judicial practice shows that the application of evidence disclosure rules in patent infringement litigation can strengthen the evidence collection ability of the parties,which is of great practical significance for solving the problem of difficulty in presenting evidence in patent infringement litigation.The first part of this paper analyzes the relevant theories of the evidence disclosure system,focusing on the comparison between the evidence disclosure system and China’s evidence exchange system,the principle of reversal of the burden of proof and the rules for the submission of orders in documents.The second part examines and analyzes the evidence disclosure systems of major common law and civil law countries,and seeks enlightenment for the improvement of evidence collection systems in patent infringement litigation in China.The third part first analyzes the necessity of evidence disclosure rules in patent infringement litigation,including patent infringement disputes over non-new product manufacturing methods,determination of damages amounts,and other patent infringement disputes with special characteristics.Secondly,the feasibility of applying the evidence disclosure rule in patent infringement disputes is analyzed.The fourth part puts forward firstly suggestions for legislative improvement of the application of evidence disclosure rules in patent infringement litigation,and secondly puts forward suggestions for improving supporting measures closely related to the operation of the evidence disclosure system.