In this era of innovation and creativityIntellectual property rightsIt has become a matter of life and work. Whether it is a new invention by researchers, a novel by writers, or a unique trademark designed by designers, intellectual property protection is inherent. Today, we are taking everyone into the legal world of intellectual property and gaining some basic legal knowledge。
1. What are intellectual property rights
In short, the most common intellectual property rights include copyright, patent and trademark rights。
Copyright: also known as copyright, refers to the legal rights of creators of intellectual achievements in the literary, artistic and scientific fields that are original and can be expressed in some form. For example, books, videos, musical works, drawings, calligraphy, etc., which we normally read, are copyrighted. Copyright consists of personal rights and property rights, such as the right to publish, to sign, to modify, etc., which accompany the author's life and are non-transferable, while property rights such as the right to reproduction, the right to issue, the right to lease, etc., may be licensed by the author and thus paid。
Patent rights: is the sole legal right of an inventor or transferee of an invention to a given invention for a certain period of time. There are three main types of invention, namely invention, practical novelty and visual design. Inventions are new technological options proposed for products, methods or their improvement; practical novelty refers to new technological solutions suitable for the shape, construction or combination of products; and visual design refers to new designs that are beautiful and suitable for industrial applications in terms of the shape, pattern or combination of the whole or part of the product. Patent power protects innovation by inventors and encourages positive innovation。
Trademark rights: this refers to the exclusive and exclusive rights of trademark owners to their trademarks. When an enterprise or individual selects a unique logo for its goods or services and applies to the trademark office for successful registration, it has the trademark right. Trademarks help consumers identify and distinguish goods or services from different sources, and are important vehicles of brand image and business reputation for enterprises。
Intellectual propertyCriminal offencesOffences covered
Article 213 [offence of false registration of trademarks] uses the same trademark as its registered trademark on the same goods or services without the permission of the registered owner. In serious cases, the penalty shall be imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years or a single fine; in particularly serious cases, the penalty shall be imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years and not exceeding ten years。
Article 214 [offence of sale of goods that are falsely registered in a trademark] sells goods that are known to be fraudulently registered in a trademark, and if the amount of the offence is greater or there are other serious circumstances, the penalty shall be imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years and a fine or a single fine; if the offence results in a large sum or other particularly serious circumstances, the penalty shall be imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years and not exceeding ten years。
Article 215 [offences of illicit manufacture or sale of registered trademarks that are illicitly manufactured], forgery, unauthorized manufacture of registered trademarks or sale of forged or unauthorized trademarks shall, in serious cases, be punishable by a term of imprisonment of up to three years and a fine of up to ten years and a fine of up to three years。
Article 216 [false patent offences] fraudulently patented others, in serious cases, is punishable by imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years or by detention, or by a single fine。
Article 217 [offences against copyright], for profit, shall be punishable by imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years or a single fine if the violation of copyright is committed in one of the following cases:
(i) the reproduction and dissemination to the public, through information networks, of works of writing, music, fine arts, audiovisual works, computer software and other works provided for by law and administrative regulations, without the authorization of the author
(ii) the publication of books the exclusive right to publish
(iii) the reproduction, distribution to the public through information networks, of audio-visual recordings produced by them without the permission of their producers
(iv) the reproduction and distribution of audio-visual recordings of performances without the permission of the performer or their dissemination to the public through information networks
(v) the production and sale of works of art forged under the signature of others
(vi) the technical measures taken by the author to protect copyright or rights relating to copyright, etc., are deliberately avoided or undermined without the consent of the author or the holder of the right to copyright。
Article 218 [sale of a tort replica], for the purpose of profit, shall be punishable by imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years or by a single fine if the sale of a tort replica, knowing that it is a tort replica provided for in article 217 of this law, is the result of a substantial or other serious offence。
Article 219 [offences against trade secrets] includes one of the following offences against trade secrets: in serious cases, the penalty shall be imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years or a single fine; in particularly serious cases, the penalty shall be imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years and not exceeding ten years
(i) the acquisition by theft, bribery, fraud, coercion, electronic intrusion or other improper means of the trade secret of the right holder
(ii) the disclosure, use or permission of trade secrets of rights holders obtained by previous means
(c) the disclosure, use or permit of a trade secret held by a person in breach of the duty of confidentiality or of the right holder's requirements for the preservation of business secrets。
The doctrine of commercial secrecy is infringed by obtaining, disclosing, using or allowing the use of the trade secret in the knowledge of the acts listed in the preceding paragraph。
For the purposes of this article, entitled persons are the owners of commercial secrets and the users of commercial secrets licensed by the owners of commercial secrets。
Article 219, paragraph 1 [offences of stealing, spying, buying or illegally providing commercial secrets] for institutions, organizations, persons who are outside the country and who are involved in stealing, spying, buying or illegally providing commercial secrets shall be punished by imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years, or by a single fine; in serious cases, by imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years and a fine。
3. How to protect their intellectual property rights
Protecting their intellectual property rights is a priority for every innovator and creator:
Timely application for registration of rights: in the case of inventions, patent applications are made in a timely manner; in the case of works, copyrights are created automatically from the date of the creation of the work, but the registration of copyrights can better prove the attribution of rights; in the case of trademarks, registration is requested as soon as possible to prevent others from taking the money。
Strengthening day-to-day management and monitoring: enterprises need to put in place a sound intellectual property management system, classify and regularly evaluate their intellectual property rights. At the same time, attention should be paid to market dynamics and violations by others should be detected and stopped in a timely manner。
:: legal awareness-raising: to learn about intellectual property laws and regulations and to learn to defend their legitimate rights and interests with legal weapons. In the process of cooperation with others, authorization to use, etc., a detailed contract is concluded to clarify the rights and obligations of the parties and to avoid disputes。
Intellectual property is an important safeguard for innovation and creation, and it is the responsibility of each of us to understand and respect intellectual property law. Only with good intellectual property rights protected by the environment can more innovation be stimulated and social progress promoted. It is hoped that today's sharing will provide a deeper understanding of intellectual property rights and better protection and application of intellectual property rights in future lives and work。
