相似外观设计专利合案申请制度研究--以精酿啤酒行业为视角

Study on the System of Joint Application for Similar Design Patents--A Perspective on the Craft Brewery Industry

随着精酿啤酒行业的不断发展以及其受众面的不断扩大,行业内竞争愈加激烈,其对于专利保护的要求越来越突出。本文通过总结相似外观设计专利保护制度的发展沿革及具体内涵,以精酿啤酒行业为例指出其产品包装的外观设计与产品的畅销度有着重要的关联。精酿啤酒行业具有体量小、门槛低、更新快、种类繁多等特点,而我国相关的专利申请制度在申请时间、数量、期限、成本及专利权的效力等多个方面的限制都使精酿啤酒行业采用“相似产品设计”及运用合案申请制度困难重重,制约了行业发展。针对这些问题,本文提出了可以通过放宽申请相似设计的数量限制、延长登记时间期限等方式,使外观设计合案申请制度与精酿啤酒行业的发展相适应等具体建议。

With the continuous growth of the craft brewery industry and the expansion of its audience,the competition in the industry has become increasingly intense,which has placed increasing requirements for patent protection.Taking the craft brewery industry as an example,the development of similar design patent protection system and its specific connotation are expounded in this article,it’s pointed out that the appearance design of its product packaging bears significant correlation with the best-selling degree of the product.The craft brewery industry is characterized by small volume,low threshold,rapid renewal and wide variety,and the limitations of China’s patent application system in terms of application time,quantity,duration,cost and effectiveness of patent rights have made it difficult for the craft brewery industry to adopt“similar product design”and apply the joint application system,which has restricted the development of the industry.In view of the problem,specific recommendations are made for adapting the joint application system to the development of the craft brewery industry by relaxing the number of similar design applications and extending the time limit for registration.