眾律國際法律事務所

發明、新型與設計專利 / 專利工程師林孟萱

Invention、Utility Model、Design/ Patent Engineer Meng-Xuan Lin

專利法第2條規定：

Article 2, Patent Act:

「本法所稱專利，分為下列三種：

一、發明專利。

二、新型專利。

三、設計專利。」

The term “patent” referred to in this Act is classified into the following three categories:

1.Inventions;

2.Utility Model; and

3.Design.

發明專利的定義如專利法第21條規定：

According to Article 21, Patent Act, the definition for Inventions is being defined under :

「發明，指利用自然法則之技術思想之創作。」

The term “invention” as used herein refers to any creation of technical concepts by utilizing the rules of nature.

新型專利的定義如專利法第104條規定：

According to Article 104, Patent Act, :the definition for Utility Models is being defined under

「新型，指利用自然法則之技術思想，對物品之形狀、構造或組合之創作。」

The term “utility model” refers to any creation of technical concepts by utilizing the acts of nature, in respect of the form, construction or installation of an article.

設計專利如專利法第121條規定：

The definition for Designs is being defined under Patent Act Article 121:

「設計，指對物品之全部或部分之形狀、花紋、色彩或其結合，透過視覺訴求之創作。」

The term “design” refers to any creation made in respect of the shape, pattern, color, or combination thereof of an article through eye appeal.

根據專利法之定義，設計專利可明顯區分出與發明專利以及新型專利不同，但發明專利與新型專利皆是利用自然法則之技術思想所產生的創作，其差異為何呢?

According to the categories of patents, you can distinguish Design from the Invention and Utility Model, however the Invention and Utility Model here refer to any creation of technical concepts by utilizing the rules of nature. Question arises as to the real difference between the two.

經濟部智慧財產局網站的專利Q&A 「發明專利、新型專利、設計專利有何不同？」一文當中提到：「發明專利與新型專利都是保護利用自然法則之技術思想的創作，著重於功能、技術、製造及使用方便性等方面之改進。但發明的標的較廣，包括物質（無一定空間型態）、物品（有一定空間型態）、方法、生物材料及其用途；新型的標的則僅及於物品之形狀、構造或組合的創作。」可以了解到發明的標的物較廣而新型的標的物較侷限。

According to the Taiwan Intellectual Property Office’s website relating to Patents’ Q&A “Are there standard forms for filing patent applications?” In this article mentioned that: “Both the Invention and Utility Model herein refers to any creation of technical concepts by utilizing the rules of nature, which focuses on its improvement in terms of its function, technology, manufacture and ease of use. However there is a broader definition for Invention, including substance (without space patterns) 、item (with certain space patterns) 、methods, biological materials and its purposes; whereas the Utility Model only covers for the shape items、creative construction or combination in creativity. Therefore, you can realize that the subject matter for the Invention is broader versus the Utility Model is more limited in terms of its coverage.

除此之外，發明與新型專利的審查方式以及專利權期限不同，發明專利需要經過實體審查，審查期間較久，但發明專利權期間是自申請日起算20年較長；新型專利只需經形式審查，審查期間較短專利權期間也較短，新型專利權期間是自申請日起算10年。有些專利申請標的物同時符合發明專利以及新型專利申請要件，此時可權衡需要快速取得專利還是希望有較長的專利權期間來選擇要申請何種專利種類。

Nevertheless, there are differences in terms of its ways of examination and patent terms for Invention and Utility Model. The Invention would need to conduct substantive examination and usually such examination would take a long time. However the term for an Invention right shall ends with twenty (20) years from the filing date of the patent application, which is comparatively longer than other patent types. Whereas the utility model would only require formality examination, the time frame for its examination and its patent right is also shorter. The duration of a Utility Model right shall be ten (10) years from the filing date of the patent application. Sometimes the requirement for its patent application would be the same for its Invention and Utility Model, therefore it is up to the applicant to evaluate its situation and to determine whether they need such patent right sooner or later, and how long they need its duration for patent right for in order to determine which type of patent to apply.

下表是發明、新型以及設計三種不同專利類型的比較表：

The following is a comparison table for three different types of patents namely Invention, Utility Model and Design:

以玻璃產業為例，請參考下圖，若一玻璃製品的技術內容在於「製程或材料創新」，應申請發明專利；若一玻璃製品的技術內容在於「結構特殊」，則應申請新型專利；若一玻璃製品的特徵在於「外觀獨特」，則因申請設計專利。

The Glass Industry for example, please see the below diagram, if its technical content for its glass product is based on “process or material innovation”, applicant should apply for Inventions; whereas if its technical content for its glass product is based on “structure features”, applicant should apply for Utility Model; if its technical content for its glass product is based on “unique appearance”, applicant should apply for Design.

參考資料：

經濟部智慧財產局 https://www.tipo.gov.tw/mp.asp?mp=1

經濟部智慧財產局 專利Q&A https://www.tipo.gov.tw/lp.asp?CtNode=7633&CtUnit=3732&BaseDSD=7&mp=1

專利法——案例式 修訂第五版 林洲富著

References:

Intellectual Property Office https://www.tipo.gov.tw/mp.asp?mp=1

Intellectual Property Office Patent’s Q&A https://www.tipo.gov.tw/lp.asp?CtNode=7633&CtUnit=3732&BaseDSD=7&mp=1

Patent Act——Case type fifth edition revised by Chew-Fu Lin