专利侵权中侵权产品制造者的认定

Determination of the Manufacturer of the In-fringing Product in Patent Infringement

摘要: 专利侵权产品制造者认定的难点主要在于，制造行为深埋于产品制销链最深处，使权利人获得制造行为的证据极其困难，又加之现代化商业模式复杂多样，很难确定制造者认定的统一标准。在专利侵权中，侵权者是否可以被识别为制造商，是决定侵权者责任大小和责任形式的重要因素，而且与侵权人能否行使“合法来源”抗辩从而以“善意”侵权豁免赔偿责任直接相关。为了使专利侵权中制造者的认定更为明确，一方面应当进一步统一指导性意见，另一方面应当完善类案检索机制，同时对举证责任进行不同于普通民事诉讼案件的合理化分配，即灵活运用举证责任倒置，以此使得专利侵权中制造者认定的路径更为清晰明了，减少相关纠纷的产生，防止在诉讼活动中因制造者认定而产生的多次拉扯，节约司法资源。

Abstract: The difficulty in identifying the manufacturer of a patent infringement lies mainly in the fact that the manufacturing act is buried deep in the deepest part of the product manufacturing and marketing chain, making it extremely difficult for the right holder to obtain evidence of the manufacturing act, and coupled with the complexity and diversity of modern business models, it is also difficult for the court to determine a uniform standard for identifying the manufacturer. In patent infringement, whether the infringer can be identified as a manufacturer is a factor in determining the infringer’s liability for infringement, and is related to whether the infringer can use the “lawful source” to defense and obtain the identity of a “bona fide” infringer to exempt himself from liability. In order to make the determination of the maker in patent infringement clearer, on the one hand, we should further unify the guiding opinions, on the other hand, we should improve the mechanism of case search, and at the same time, we should rationalize the allocation of the burden of proof different from that of ordinary civil litigation cases, i.e., flexibly use the reversal of the burden of proof, so as to make the path of the determination of the maker in patent infringement clearer, reduce the related disputes, and prevent multiple pulls in litigation activities arising from the identification of the manufacturer, and save judicial resources.