問5
頻出度★★★
インターネットを利用した企業広告に関する新たなビジネスモデルを知的財産として出願し, コンピュータシステムとして実現した。このビジネスモデルを知的財産として, 保護する法律はどれか。
令和8年度 ITパスポート試験 問5
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 5
Incorrectア
The Design Act protects the design (visible appearance) of an article (product), such as its shape, pattern, and color. What this question seeks to protect is a business model (a mechanism or method), not the external appearance of a product, so the subject of protection differs and this option is wrong.
Incorrectイ
The Utility Model Act protects devices (so-called minor inventions) relating to the shape, structure, or combination of an article, and its subject is limited to devices concerning a concrete article. An advertising business model and the mechanism of the system that implements it cannot be regarded as the shape or structure of an article, so they are not eligible for protection, and this option is wrong.
Incorrectウ
The Copyright Act protects works that creatively express thoughts or feelings (such as the expression in novels, music, or programs), but it does not protect ideas or mechanisms themselves. The concept of a business model (a technical idea) falls outside the scope of the Copyright Act, so this option is wrong.
- エ
正解 The correct answer is エ (the Patent Act). The Patent Act protects inventions, which are “creations of technical ideas utilizing the laws of nature.” A business model itself (an abstract idea) is not an invention and is not eligible for protection. However, as in this question, when an Internet advertising business model is concretely implemented as a computer system, it becomes a technical mechanism using ICT and can become the subject of a patent as an invention. This is what is called a “business model patent,” and the law under which it is filed and protected is the Patent Act.
ここがポイント
- Business model patent: A business method itself is not protected, but once it is technically implemented as ICT or a computer system, it can become the subject of protection under the Patent Act as an invention.
- Distinguishing the subjects of protection among intellectual property rights. Patent Act = inventions (technical ideas), Utility Model Act = devices for articles, Design Act = designs, Copyright Act = creative expression. The key distinction is that the Patent Act protects “creations of technical ideas utilizing the laws of nature.”
用語