Study On The Application Of The Patent Exhaustion Principle

A patent is a set of exclusive rights granted by law to an inventor for a limited period of time in exchange for a public disclosure and free use of an invention.The doctrine of"patent exhaustion"is a systemic arrangement to coordinate real right and patent right on patented products, to balance interests between patentees and social public, to realize the fundamental target of patent law that is promoting the development of science and technology.The thesis mainly applies the method of combination of theory analysis and case research. Exception of introduction and conclusion, the thesis mainly consists of three Chapters:Chapter one is an overview of the doctrine of"patent exhaustion". This Chapter presents the basis theory of Patent, the meaning and significance of the doctrine of"patent exhaustion". What's more, this Chapter focuses on two basis theories related to the doctrine of"patent exhaustion":"implied license theory"and"Inherent restriction theory". By comparison and analysis of these two theories, the conclusion that the doctrine of"patent exhaustion"derived from"implied license theory"has been reached.Chapter Two is an emphasis introducing the rules of application of the doctrine of"patent exhaustion"in US. Two issues are discussed in Chapter Two: whether the doctrine of"patent exhaustion"can be applied in method patent and if the doctrine of"patent exhaustion"can be excluded from application by the effective limited terms. The thesis cites some typical examples of US and by comparison of these cases and above presented theories, draws some conclusions on practice in application of the doctrine of"patent exhaustion"in USChapter Three is some suggestions of application of the doctrine of"patent exhaustion"in China, which is another emphasis. This Chapter points out the disadvantages of present legislation and puts forward some suggestions on promoting the application of the doctrine of"patent exhaustion"in China by borrowing practices of US.The thesis elaborates the controversial issues emerging in application of the doctrine of"patent exhaustion"by introduction and research on application rules of the doctrine of"patent exhaustion"in US and offers proposals on relevant legislation, aiming at making better use of the doctrine of"patent exhaustion"in balancing related interests.