论惩罚性赔偿在专利侵权纠纷中的适用——以发明与实用新型为例

On the application of punitive damages in patent infringement disputes——A case study of inventions and utility models

为研究惩罚性赔偿在专利侵权纠纷中的适用,以发明与实用新型为例,运用实证研究方法对相关裁判文书进行分析。研究发现:(1)在构成要件的判断上,现阶段法院对“间接故意”是否纳入惩罚性赔偿主观要件的情况并未形成统一判定标准,对“情节严重”的认定较为谨慎。(2)在利用“等同原则”判断涉案专利是否属于侵权时,囿于情形的多样化,亦未在裁判上达成共识。(3)由于“惩罚性赔偿”本身内容的模糊化导致的错位运用,不仅增加法院办案负担,也可能导致受害人无法利用该机制救济自身权益。基于上述发现,有必要在实践中对诸要件适用范围进行合理界定,对“等同原则”进行精细化适用以及防止“惩罚性赔偿”制度错位运用。

In order to study the application of punitive damages in patent infringement disputes,this paper takes inventions and utility models as examples,and uses empirical research methods to analyze the relevant judgment documents.The findings are as follows:(1)In the judgment of constitutive elements,at this stage,the court has not formed a unified judgment standard on whether"indirect intent"is included in the subjective elements of punitive damages,and is more cautious in the determination of"serious circumstances".(2)In the use of the"principle of equivalence"to judge whether the patent involved is infringing,due to the diversification of circumstances,no consensus has been reached in the judgment.(3)The misplacement of the"punitive damages"due to the ambiguity of the content of the"punitive damages"not only increases the burden of the court,but also may cause the victims to be unable to use the mechanism to remedy their rights and interests.Based on the above findings,it is necessary to reasonably define the scope of application of various elements,finely apply the"equivalence principle"and prevent the misplacement of the"punitive damages"system in practice.