Research On Punitive Damages In Intellectual Property Infringement

As a principle of damages remedy in the Anglo-American tort law system, punitive damages have not been generally accepted by the civil law countries or regions. In China, compensatory damages have always been used in intellectual property damages as a way of compensation in traditional civil law. Due to the particularity of intellectual property infringement, compensatory damages have been unable to fully compensate the victims and to restrain serious infringement behaviors in intellectual property. As a result, it is necessary to introduce the punitive damages to improve the level of intellectual property rights protection.The paper is divided into five chapters.The first chapter gives an overview of punitive damages. At first, it is a general introduction to the definition and characters of punitive damages, as well as the process of its developments. Secondly, the nature and function of punitive damages are discussed. Essentially, it is a civil liability and the main function is to punish and deter the infringements. Thirdly, this paper will introduce the applied scope and constitutive elements of punitive damages in American law system. The last part of this chapter will introduce the system of punitive damages which has already existed in current China laws.The second chapter is about the comparative Study of punitive damages in intellectual property infringement. The system of punitive damages as well as its applied conditions and compensation limitations in the law of intellectual property right in Taiwan Province and the USA are mainly introduced. This system is applied to intention, malignancy, or culpable negligence and other serious violations of intellectual property rights, but the compensation is in an amount not exceeding three times of the actual damages. The study of learning the successful experience of damages in America and Taiwan Province draws useful lessons to found the punitive damages system of intellectual property in Chinese laws.Chapter three encompasses the damages system of intellectual property, and mainly about four types of calculation and analysis, pointing out that the implementation of intellectual property in China is still compensatory damages system and no punitive damages. Then, the paper also introduces the details of the two ideas of damages in intellectual property right.The forth chapter is mainly discussed the necessity and rationality to build punitive damages for intellectual property right in China. Above all, the specialty of intellectual property infringement is discussed. Because of the specialty, compensatory damages system is not enough to compensate the victims and restrain the infringements. So it is essential to introduce the punitive damages. Then the paper discusses the functions and the value of punitive damages applied in the intellectual property right, and also comparatively analyzes the intentions of compensation and the effects of restraining infringement between the compensatory damages and punitive damages. At last, the paper puts forward the idea that it is viable to apply punitive damages in Chinese intellectual property.In the Chapter Five, there are some suggestions for the establishment of punitive damages in intellectual property law in China. The first part of this paper discusses the applicable conditions of punitive damages in intellectual property. In view of infringement cases which have serious results or serious circumstances, with intentions and culpable negligence, the court should make the infringer to give the punitive damages when the victims ask for that. The second part discusses the sum of punitive damages, pointing out that the maximum amount of compensation should not exceed three times of the actual damages of victims. Also, a number of factors should be taken into consideration when the courts determine the amount of punitive damages.