Research On The Identification Of Functional Features In Patent Infringement

With the deepening of the construction of “the Belt and Road Initiatives”,the number of patent applications in China is increasing,and at the same time,the number of patent infringement dispute cases has also increased,which has undoubtedly become a challenge to our patent system.Compared with the United States,Japan and other countries outside the region,China’s patent system has not only been established late,but also has a relatively slow development rate.Although the patent law has undergone three revisions and successively issued relevant judicial interpretations,the provisions in various aspects are still not perfect.Therefore,in order to solve the increasingly complicated patent infringement cases,it is urgent to consolidate the theoretical basis of our patent system.As one of the important concepts of patent infringement judgment,functional features have been widely used in China’s judicial practice,but its concept was not clearly defined until January25,2016.Functional features have often appeared in patent application documents since their emergence to the present.Therefore,there is no denying the necessity of its existence.Although the functional features have a clear meaning,but the concept of the grasp and determination is not unified.All levels of court when hearing cases involving the functional features of patent infringement whether a certain technical feature should be identified as a different understanding of functional features,which in turn make different judgment results.Therefore,the reasonable and accurate identification of functional features has become the key link of patent infringement judgment in judicial practice.This article takes the case of Guangzhou Tongming Solar Energy Technology Co.,Ltd.v.Shenzhen Huaze Xingye Technology Co.,Ltd.as a starting point.While the basic facts of the case are simply sorted out and the focus of the dispute is analyzed in depth,the cases involving functional features are also examined in detail.It is considered that the identification of a functional feature: first determine whether a technical feature is a functional or effect description from the presentation form,and get a positive answer;then use the exclusion clause as a basis to determine whether the technical feature is an exceptional case of a functional feature;Finally,in order to correctly grasp the technical features,features of this technology into understanding the technical program in connection with the patented product as a whole.Based on this,we can reasonably and accurately determine whether a technical feature is a functional feature.In particular,it is necessary to pay attention to the application of the exclusion clauses of functional features,and it cannot be concluded that the technical features containing functional or effectdescription belong to the functional features only by the literal meaning.The scope of protection of functional features should adopt specific interpretation rules.That is,be defined by the specific implementation of the patent specification and its equivalents,and only the technical features necessary to achieve the function described in the patent claim specification and the drawings limit the content of "functional features".In addition,this article also examines in detail the cases involving functional feature determination in judicial practice in recent years,and summarized and analyzed the adjudication opinions on functional feature cases,further discovers the problems in the identification of functional features in China,and examines the relevant provisions of functional features in countries outside the territory.Finally,in order to improve the identification of functional features in patent infringement in China,the article puts forward some suggestions,such as the rules for the interpretation of functional features,which should be unified.