問7
頻出度★★★
コンピュータを活用した新しいビジネスモデルを構築した。このビジネスモデルを保護する法律はどれか。
平成22年度 春期 ITパスポート試験 問7
ストラテジ系法務 › 知的財産権
This question's explanation and your answers so far.
解説
問 7
Incorrectア
The Design Act protects the appearance design of articles, buildings, images, and the like, namely their shape, pattern, and color, which creates an aesthetic impression through the sense of sight. What it protects is the visual form, not a business scheme or a processing procedure. Even if the screen design of the system in this question or the external appearance of its equipment were original, it could become the subject of a design right, but that is protection of appearance only and cannot protect the business model itself, which is what the question asks about. Therefore it is wrong.
Incorrectイ
The Trademark Act protects marks (trademarks) such as characters, figures, and symbols that a company uses to distinguish its own goods and services from those of other companies. Its purpose is to protect the business goodwill embodied in the trademark and to protect the interests of consumers. What it protects is the mark that serves as an identifier, not the business scheme. If a brand name or logo is attached to a new business, that name can be protected by trademark registration, but the scheme itself is not protected, so this is wrong.
Incorrectウ
The Copyright Act protects works that creatively express thoughts or feelings, and programs are also included as protected works. However, what the Copyright Act protects is the concrete expression; the idea, algorithm, rule, or scheme behind it is not protected (the idea-expression dichotomy). Therefore, the source code of the program that implements the system can be protected by copyright, but the business model as a scheme itself cannot be protected, and even if another company realizes the same scheme with different code, that is not copyright infringement. Hence this choice is wrong.
- エ
正解 The correct answer is エ. The Patent Act is the law that protects inventions, which are defined as creations of technical ideas utilizing the laws of nature that are of an advanced level. The key point here is that a business scheme or idea by itself is only a human-made arrangement or an economic rule and does not utilize the laws of nature, so on its own it cannot be the subject of a patent. However, as in this question, when information technology such as computers and networks is used to implement that business scheme as a system, a mechanism that solves a problem through technical means, namely hardware and software, is created, so as a whole it can be recognized as an invention utilizing the laws of nature and can be protected by the Patent Act. A patent on a new business method realized with information technology in this way is generally called a business model patent (business method patent). To obtain a patent, you must file an application with the Patent Office, and it is registered after examination once it satisfies requirements such as novelty (not publicly known before filing), inventive step (not easy to come up with), and industrial applicability. Once the right is granted, the invention can in principle be worked exclusively for 20 years from the filing date. In short, the law that protects the mechanism, that is the technical idea, of a new business model built by utilizing computers is the Patent Act.
ここがポイント
- Business model patent — a business scheme or idea alone does not utilize the laws of nature and therefore cannot be patented, but once it is realized using information technology such as computers and networks, it becomes a creation of a technical idea utilizing the laws of nature (an invention) and falls under the protection of the Patent Act. The term of a patent right is in principle 20 years from the filing date.
- Sorting out what each intellectual property law protects — the Patent Act covers inventions (technical ideas and schemes), the Utility Model Act covers devices relating to the structure or shape of articles, the Design Act covers the exterior design of articles and the like, the Trademark Act covers marks that identify goods and services, and the Copyright Act covers creative expression (including programs, but not the ideas behind them). Choose the applicable law according to what is being protected.
用語