問20
頻出度★★★
実用新案権の保護対象として, 適切なものはどれか。
平成31年度 春期 ITパスポート試験 問20
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 20
Incorrectア
An image processing program is software, not the shape or structure of an article. A program (algorithm) may qualify for a patent (invention), but it is not a subject of protection under utility model rights.
Incorrectイ
A business model (the mechanism of a business) is not an article, so it falls outside utility model rights. If it meets the requirements it may be treated as a business-model patent (invention), but it is not protected under a utility model.
Incorrectウ
A “method” of extracting rare metals is not the shape or structure of an article, but the procedure or method itself. A method falls outside utility model rights and is instead something that can be protected by a patent (invention).
- エ
正解 Utility model rights (the Utility Model Act) protect “a device relating to the shape, structure, or combination of an article” — that is, a structural refinement of a concrete article (a minor invention). Choice エ, “a device that combines a desk lamp and a clock so the time can be checked easily even at night,” is a shape-and-structure device that combines existing articles, and it precisely falls under the subject of protection of utility model rights.
ここがポイント
- The subject of protection of utility model rights is “a device relating to the shape, structure, or combination of an article,” and it does not include methods, programs, or business models.
- Grasp the difference between patent rights (invention) and utility model rights (device): abstract methods and software fall under patents, while structural refinements of a concrete article fall under utility models.
用語