問11
頻出度★★★
インターネットを利用した新たなビジネスモデルを保護する法律はどれか。
平成25年度 春期 ITパスポート試験 問11
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 11
Incorrectア
What the Design Act protects is a design, that is, the outward appearance such as the shape, pattern, or color of an article, a building, or a screen design, which creates an aesthetic impression through the sense of sight. What is protected is the look, not a business mechanism or its processing steps. For example, part of a website screen design may be protected as a design, but this is not a law that protects an internet-based business model itself.
Incorrectイ
What the Trademark Act protects is a trademark, that is, a mark such as characters, figures, or symbols, or a service name, that serves to indicate the source of goods or services. It is a law for preventing other companies from using confusingly similar names or logos, and it does not extend to the mechanism of the business itself. Even if you register a service name or logo as a trademark, you cannot stop another company from running the same business model under a different name.
Incorrectウ
What the Copyright Act protects is a work, that is, something that expresses thoughts or feelings in a creative way, covering concrete expressions such as programs, text, images, and music. What is protected is the expression, not the idea or the mechanism, so even though the source code that implements a business model is protected as an expression, you cannot prevent someone from implementing the same mechanism with different code. In addition, copyright arises automatically at the moment of creation (no formalities are required), which differs from industrial property rights, for which application and registration are necessary.
- エ
正解 The correct answer is エ, the Patent Act. What the Patent Act protects is an invention, that is, a creation of technical ideas utilizing the laws of nature that is of a high level. A new business model that uses the internet is not merely a business idea in itself; it is understood as a mechanism realized with technology such as computers and networks (a software-related invention), so if it satisfies requirements such as novelty and inventive step it can be registered as a patent, and patents of this kind are generally called business model patents. A patent right comes into existence when an application is filed with the Patent Office, examined, and registered, and the right holder can stop other companies from working the same mechanism without permission. It is the law used when you want to protect a new business mechanism realized with ICT, such as the payment or product-recommendation mechanism of an online store. The other three laws protect different subject matter, so エ is correct.
ここがポイント
- How the four industrial property laws divide up what they protect: the Patent Act protects inventions (creations of technical ideas utilizing the laws of nature that are of a high level); the Utility Model Act protects devices concerning the shape or structure of an article; the Design Act protects the outward design of articles and the like; and the Trademark Act protects marks that identify goods and services. In every case the right comes into existence through application to and registration with the Patent Office.
- Business model patents: a new business mechanism realized with ICT such as the internet can be protected under the Patent Act as a software-related invention. A business idea alone cannot become a patent; it must be realized by using technology. By contrast, the Copyright Act protects expression rather than ideas, and it needs no registration because the right arises at the time of creation.
用語