問21
頻出度★★★
事業者の信用維持や需要者の混同を回避するために, 更新の申請を繰り返すことで, 実質的に永続的な権利保有が可能な工業所有権はどれか。
平成27年度 春期 ITパスポート試験 問21
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 21
Incorrectア
A design right protects the design of an article (its shape, pattern, colors, and so on). Its term has an upper limit after which it expires (since the amendment effective April 2020, up to 25 years from filing; before that, 20 years from registration), and it has no renewal system. Its purpose is to grant exclusivity over a design, which is a creation, only for a limited period, after which society can use it freely, so it cannot be held permanently.
Incorrectイ
A utility model right protects small inventions (devices) such as the shape or structure of an article. It expires 10 years from filing and cannot be renewed. It is among the shorter protection periods of the four rights, and once the term expires anyone can work it.
- ウ
正解 The correct answer is ウ, the trademark right. A trademark right protects the marks and names that identify goods or services. Its term is 10 years from the date of registration, but by repeatedly filing renewal applications it can be renewed every 10 years any number of times, with no upper limit on the total period. In other words, as long as the business continues and the renewal fees keep being paid, the right can in practice be held forever. This is because a trademark is not a new creation but a sign representing the business credibility (the brand) that the operator has built up over many years. Maintaining the business operator's credibility and avoiding confusion among consumers (not letting people mistake which company a product comes from), which the question mentions, are exactly the purposes of the Trademark Act. If a sign whose credibility grows the longer it is used were extinguished partway, both that credibility and the safety of transactions would be harmed instead, so semi-permanent protection through renewal is allowed.
Incorrectエ
A patent right protects an invention. It expires in principle 20 years from filing, and extension by renewal application is not allowed (there is an exceptional term-extension registration for pharmaceuticals and the like, but it is not a system that can be repeated to make the right last forever). Letting anyone use the invention freely after the term expires is the basic design of the patent system.
ここがポイント
- The industrial property rights are four: patent, utility model, design, and trademark rights. The first three are systems that grant exclusivity over a creation only for a limited period and end when the term expires, while only the trademark right protects a sign in which credibility is embodied, so it can be maintained semi-permanently through renewal registration.
- Rough guide to the terms: patent right = 20 years from filing, utility model right = 10 years from filing, design right = up to 25 years from filing (since the 2020 amendment; 20 years from registration before that), trademark right = 10 years from registration (renewable, with no limit on the number of renewals). Whether renewal is possible is the deciding point of this question.
用語