國際專利申請策略分析：以智慧型手機為例

Abstract

本研究探討國際專利申請策略，並以智慧型手機為個案研究。專利策略包含：取得專利、授權專利、行使專利。國際專利申請是企業取得專利以提升競爭力的重要方法。企業必須決定是否申請、申請種類、申請國家、第一申請局、申請時機。國際專利申請可運用優先權、專利合作條約（PCT）申請、區域組織申請、美國暫時申請及延續申請、專利審查高速公路（PPH）、加速審查等策略，並可統合運用以符合企業目的及預算要求。智慧型手機專利具有專利叢林、訴訟及交易活動頻繁、與產業標準密切相關等特性。本研究討論蘋果公司、三星電子、宏達電、華為科技、中興通訊等智慧型手機大廠之國際申請策略。所討論公司均廣泛運用優先權，大部分亦都廣泛運用PCT申請及區域組織申請，但宏達電極少運用PCT申請。蘋果公司及三星電子在美國均擅長運用暫時申請以先佔優先權日並以延續申請不斷擴展專利權範圍。

This study analyzes the international patent filing strategy, and smartphone patents as a case study. Patent strategy includes: patenting, licensing, and enforcement. International patent filing is an important way for corporations to acquire patents to enhance their competitiveness. Corporations need to decide whether to file, filing type, filing countries, first office to file, and filing time. International patent filing strategy utilizes claiming priorities, Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) applications, regional organization applications, and provisional applications and continuing applications in the United States, the Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH), accelerated examination, and the use of integration to meet corporation goals and budget requirements. Smartphone patents have the characteristics of patent thickets, frequent litigations and transactions, close relationships with industry standards. This study discusses the international filing strategy of the smartphone manufacturers including Apple Inc., Samsung Electronics, HTC, Huawei Technologies, and ZTE. Discussed manufactures widely use international priority, most of them also use PCT applications and regional organization applications extensively, but HTC rarely uses PCT application. Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics are good at using provisonal applications to anticipate priority dates and continuing applications to expand the patent scope in the United States.