Research On The Restriction Of Application Of Patent Infringement Equivalent Principle

The principle of patent equivalent infringement is one of the principles for determining patent infringement,which expands the scope of literal protection of claims.With the development of the patent system,the breakthrough of the principle of equivalent for patent literal protection on the one hand causes the patentee to abuse the patent system unreasonable to obtain a larger scope of patent protection,on the other hand causes the court to judge the patent infringement cases unreasonable to identify the scope of equivalent,resulting in some patent infringement cases the upper and lower levels of court to identify the different scope of equivalent,inconsistent judgment dilemma.This paper introduces the principle of equivalent infringement,and then focuses on the theoretical analysis of the restrictions on the application of the principle of equivalent infringement,which will prove the limitation of the principle of patent equivalent.This paper introduces the general principles of the application limitation of the principle of patent equivalent infringement in China’s judicial practice,specifically introduces the principles of all technical characteristics,donation and prohibition of regret,and points out the defects of the general principles in the scope of application.This paper analyzes the problems existing in the application limitation of the principle of equivalent in patent infringement in China,including the narrow adjustment range of the application limitation of the principle of equivalent in legislation and the inconsistent identification of the application limitation of the principle of equivalent in judicature.This paper introduces the experience of US application of the principle of equivalent infringement,including the specific exclusion rule and Claim Vitiation Doctrine.By sorting out the representative cases of the Supreme People ’s Court on the application limitation of the principle of patent equivalent infringement,the specific measures for the application of equivalent limitation in specific patent infringement cases are sorted out according to the viewpoints in the criterion.Based on the theoretical analysis of the restrictions on the application of the principle of equivalent infringement,domestic judicial practice,and foreign experience,this paper,based on the current situation of China’s patent system,improves the restrictions on the application of the principle of equivalent infringement from the legislative and judicial aspects.It is recommended to establish the publicity system of equivalent technical scheme,establish the guidance system of equivalent principle limitation,and incorporate the specific situation limitation scheme of patent equivalent infringement into the guidance of equivalent principle limitation,introducing the specific exclusion rule.