外观设计保护模式的思考和探讨

Reflections and Discussions on the Modes of Appearance Design Protection

外观设计兼具有技术性和艺术性,使得它与其他知识产权客体有一定的重叠之处。我国现行立法将外观设计置于专利法中进行保护,在满足一定条件下,也可受版权法、商标法或反不正当竞争法的保护。随着创意产业的崛起及我国外观设计水平的提高,目前专利法中关于外观设计的简单规定已无法为其提供完善保护,由此学界提出外观设计的法律保护网络和单独立法两种新的保护模式。通过对两种模式进行分析,基于外观设计的特殊性,采取单独立法的保护模式更具灵活性,符合当今社会的发展和国际趋势,也更有利于外观设计的国际保护。

Appearance design embodies technicality and artistry, which make it overlap with other objects of intellectual property. Our present legislation puts appearance design in the protection of patent law, or in the protection of copyright law, trademark law or anti- injustice competition law under certain conditions. With the rise of creative industry and progress in appearance design level, the simple rules on appearance design in patent law can not provide perfect protection, so the academic circle proposes two modes to protect appearance design： the network of legal protection and separate legislation. Based on the particularity of appearance design, the analysis on the two modes shows that the mode of separate legislation has more flexibility, accords with the development of the society and in- ternational trends, and benefits international protection of appearance design.