A Study on the Balance between Patent Protection and Innovation Based on Microsoft v. I4I

• Main Authors: Chun-Lien Yu, 余俊璉
• Other Authors: 姚思遠
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2013
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/60251199834020307695

碩士 === 東吳大學 === 法律學系 === 101 === The essence of patent right is to empower patentee with rights of monopoly and exclusive through systemic design so as to promote the innovation of industrial technologies, as well as to introduce patentee’s intelligent achievement to public domain through the implementation and exchange of patent right so as to enable the society and industries to share the fruits of innovation and progress. Such equity design between to-and-fro interests of public and private sectors is the principal purpose for the establishment of the patent system. According to the statistics of World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), the total number of patent applications filed worldwide in 2012 has exceeded 2 million, which indicated that the function of patent has played a very important strategic position under the trend of global economy. However, the unprecedented number of patent applications has led each patent office suffers from a great deal of stress; moreover, the use of patent right has become more complicate following the development of commercial activities. Industry’s intention to dominate economic interests through the monopoly and exclusive of patent right has often resulted in cross-board patent infringements. Under such condition the patent right not only forms a protection barrier to prevent transnational competitors from entering domestic market, but also generates a variety of controversies as well. Facing the modern challenges of the patent system, the United States, as a mainstream of patent implementation nation, has gradually responded related issues in its legislative, judicial and administrative departments. On the legislative aspect, in 2011 the U.S. Congress has released the most significant changes in patent reform amendment in nearly recent 60 years; in terms of administrative side, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has proposed 2010-2015 annual strategic plan to commit to enhance the quality of patents and pull up the energy of patent examination; with respect to justice, many of U.S. federal court critical precedents in recent years have established guidelines for subsequent homogeneous cases. Taking the transnational infringement case between Microsoft Corporation USA and Canadian company I4I Inc. in 2011 explored in this study for example, the Court upheld the burden of proof for patent invalidation should apply to standard proof of past case law of “clear and convincing evidence”. The judgment, which can be referred as strategy and impact for transnational industry patent litigation in the future, not only is regarded as the equity of patent in judicial practice, but also highlights the U.S.’s insistence on the patent system should encourage industrial innovation as a mainstream value. The International Institute for Management Development (IMD) in Switzerland, annually conducts world’s competitiveness rating on the basis of eight indicators of each country’s strength of the domestic economic, internationalization, government efficiency, financial strength, infrastructure, business management skills, talent and technological strength, and quality of life, while indicator of " technological strength " includes R & D resources, the attention to the scientific research, the quantity of patents and technology management capabilities. In accordance with the "2013 World Competitiveness Ranking” recently released by IMD, the United States returned to world’s top this year owe to its financial revitalization, ample technological innovations and successful business developments. It can be seen that in the era of universal exchange of global knowledge and economy, a state's economic policy and patent system not only affect the operation of enterprises, but also serve as key factors to lead the country’s scientific technology and competitiveness. Therefore, this study attempted to gradually conclude the core values and policy implications of patent system implicated in the transnational litigation case of this study through the dimensions of patent essence, government coping strategies toward modern challenges as well as recent law amendment and reform, and, using the U.S. law experiences, to propose foregoing observations and experience for the transnational enterprises to respond to global patent trend in the future.