Are software designs protected by patents?

In order to adapt to the new economic development model, our country is paying more and more attention to the protection of intellectual property rights. Intellectual property rights in our country include patent invention rights, copyrights, appearance patent rights, etc. Does the design patent include software design? Is software design protected by a patent? The editor of Legal Savior Network will give you the answer.

1. Are software designs protected by patents?

From May 1, 2014 Starting from 2019, my country has begun to grant patent protection to designs containing graphical user interface (GUI) products. For industries or companies that widely use graphical user interfaces, such as smart home appliances, electronic information, and digital imaging, this revision provides strong legal protection for their design and creation, which will further encourage their creation, enhance market competitiveness, and promote industry develop.

2. What is the scope of protection of appearance invention patents

《 Paragraph 2 of Article 56 of the Patent Law stipulates that the scope of protection of a design patent shall be subject to the design patent product shown in pictures or photos. This provision indicates that the object of protection of a design patent is a product, and the design must be integrated with the product. If it is simply an innovative pattern or drawing, it cannot be protected by a design patent unless it is used on a certain carrier. Only use a certain design pattern for the frame. Industrial products such as automobiles can only be protected by the Patent Law, otherwise they fall under the protection scope of the Copyright Law. Items that cannot be included in the scope of design patent protection include:

1. Buildings, bridges and other products that cannot be assembled in factories, such as residences, museums, etc.; but buildings Components such as doors, windows, small mobile houses and other buildings that can be mass-produced in factories are not subject to this restriction.

2. Objects without fixed shapes such as gases, liquids or flowing substances, as well as powdery and granular aggregates.

3. Parts of the product that cannot be sold and used separately, such as knife handles, water cup handles, etc.

4. It cannot be used for visual or items that are difficult to judge with the naked eye.

5. It is not a protective design required by the shape of the piece itself.

6. Use natural objects as exterior decorationThe main body of design and products that cannot be mass-produced.

7. Works that are purely within the scope of fine art, such as paintings, sculptures, etc., are not granted design patent protection.

8. Creations that are easily carried out by people with general knowledge or skills in the relevant technical field, and designs based on common shapes and patterns.

9. Imitate the designs and images of famous works, buildings, and portraits, and use them intact on patented products.

10. National flag, national emblem, trademark and other signs.

3. How long is the protection period of a design patent?

my country The protection period of design patent rights is 10 years. Among the designs applied for in 1993, less than 10% obtained patent rights and the patent protection period reached 10 years. Most people applied for patents only to obtain a patent certificate, thereby obtaining professional titles, taxation and other benefits. [⑤] Therefore, after obtaining the patent rights, they did not have the awareness to apply the patents to the production of industrial goods. Many patents lost their patent rights due to the reasons of the patentee. Some patent holders only seek short-term commercial benefits and do not use their patents to occupy the market for a long time as one of their own brand products. For some large companies with strong strength and strategic vision, they hope that their products can occupy the market for a long time and obtain effective legal protection. For them, the 10-year protection period is relatively short.

For designs, the protection period varies according to the laws of various countries: the protection period for designs in Japan is 15 years from the date of registration approval; in Germany , its protection period is 20 years from the date of application; in the UK, its protection period is 5 years from the date of registration, and can be extended 4 times, each time for 5 years; in the United States, its protection period is from the date of issuance of the certificate 14 years from the date of application; in France, the protection period is 25 years from the date of application, and can be extended by a further 25 years upon declaration by the registrant. It can be seen that the design patent protection period in my country is shorter than that in developed countries.

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