试论主题名称对专利权保护范围的限定作用——摩拜单车专利侵权纠纷上诉案评析

The Limitation Effect of Patent Subject Matter's Name——A Comment on the Patent Infringement Case involving Mobike

权利要求中的主题名称是前序的一部分,是权利要求包含的全部技术特征所构成的技术方案的抽象和概括,其本质是对专利技术方案的命名,一般不属于具体的技术特征。主题名称的限定作用与前序的限定作用不能一概而论,其实际的限定作用应当取决于该主题名称对权利要求所要保护的技术方案产生了何种影响,重点可考察主题名称对应技术领域与特征部分所限定的技术领域是否相同、主题名称是否足够抽象和全面、主题名称是否被用于区分现有技术、主题名称和特征部分的术语之间是否具有重述或引用关系等方面。由技术特征组合而成的技术方案难以脱离主题名称确定的技术领域而独立存在,因此主题名称一般应当认定具有限定技术方案保护范围的作用,但这种限定是总括性的限定,是对技术方案适用领域的限定,而非技术特征的限定作用,因此一般不应有等同理论适用的空间。

The subject matter’s name is a part of the preamble, a name of the patented invention and an abstraction or summarization of the technical solution consisting of all the technical features in the claim, but the name itself is not a concrete technical feature. As far as the limitation effect, the subject matter’s name and the preamble cannot be treated as the same. The practical limitation effect of the subject matter’s name is dependent on its actual effects on the patented technical solution. Whether the technical fields of the subject matter’s name and the claim’s characterizing portion are the same one, whether it is abstracted and comprehensive enough, whether it is used to distinguish the prior art, and whether there are reciting and reference relationship between them, should all be taken into consideration when determining the limitation effect of the subject matter’s name.