專利訴訟風險的實證研究

Abstract

創新不僅可以創造產品與服務的價值，更是企業提升競爭力的良方。但是，創新往往會面臨許多障礙而無法前進，例如技術瓶頸、市場趨勢與成本等，而企業在創新上現在還面臨了更具殺傷力的潛在障礙：專利侵權。專利權人可以透過訴訟禁止他人未經其授權而製造、販賣邀約、販賣、使用與基於前述目的的進口等行為。因此，近年來許多專利權人將專利權做為商業競爭武器，對競爭對手甚至是下游客戶發起專利侵權訴訟，以取得其競爭優勢地位。 在本論文中，我們透過檢視美國專利特徵與美國專利侵權訴訟間的相關性，藉此來定義出專利風險因子，並以羅吉斯迴歸分析進行量化分析來評估專利侵權風險。經分析，本論文所定義的專利訴訟風險因子對於專利訴訟是有顯著影響。透過本論文的研究發現，企業可以藉由這些專利風險因子的影響方式來制定產品與專利布局的策略，並藉此來避免或降低被競爭對手控訴專利侵權風險，甚或是增加控訴競爭對手專利侵權的機率，如此即可有效降低企業創新的專利侵權風險並提升競爭力。 近年來，最火熱的議題之一就是物聯網(IoT)，而市場上物聯網的相關產品也已經開始蓬勃發展，許多報導也紛紛預測物聯網產業具有數十億到數百億美元的龐大商機。然而，與此同時也有許多研究指出物聯網的發展可能因為有隱私權與安全性的問題而受限。此外，我們調查發現物聯網相關的專利侵權訴訟也呈現上升的趨勢，因此物聯網的相關企業在產品發展上不可忽視專利侵權所帶來的營運風險。為了瞭解物聯網產業的專利訴訟風險，我們藉由分析美國物聯網相關專利的特徵與美國物聯網相關專利侵權訴訟後，建立假設並識別物聯網的風險因子後再以羅吉斯迴歸分析進行驗證。分析結果顯示，本論文所識別的物聯網專利風險因子確實對於美國物聯網專利侵權訴訟有顯著影響。基於此分析結果，物聯網的相關企業不僅可以建立具嚇阻性的專利策略以提升競爭力，以及迴避競爭對手的高風險專利以降低專利侵權風險。另外，值得一提的是，物聯網的專利風險因子與不分產業的專利風險因子略有不同，因此在分析不同產業或產品的專利侵權風險時，識別具有產業或產品特徵的專利風險因子是有其必要性的。 對企業而言，強化專利的強度以增加對競爭對手的專利侵權風險，雖然可大幅降低競爭對手的競爭，但仍無法完全避免專利侵權發生，因此採取訴訟以排除競爭對手的不當競爭仍是必要的選項之一。然而，法律訴訟耗時又耗力且訴訟時間越長成本越高，美國的訴訟成本更是經常高達數百萬美元，對參與其中的企業都是相當沉重的負擔。所以當企業採用訴訟手段來排除侵權與競爭時，若能精確的評估訴訟時間，除了能有效控管訴訟成本外更能有助於及早擬定訴訟後的各項營運策略，進而增加企業的競爭力。因此我們延伸上述研究以探討專利訴訟時間的影響因子。本論文識別出數個專利訴訟時間影響因子，並進行迴歸分析。結果顯示，本論文所識別的專利訴訟時間影響因子確實對於美國專利侵權訴訟時間有顯著影響。 企業若能將本論文所提的專利風險因子與專利訴訟時間影響因子的分析結果與發現，綜合成一個全面性的企業專利策略，相信對於提升企業競爭力與遏阻競爭會有相當大的助益。

Innovation can enhance the usefulness of products and services, but technological innovation may be hindered by many potential barriers. One potential barrier that becomes more and more important is patent infringement litigation. As patentees may deter anyone from making, offering to sell, selling, using, and importing without their licenses, patent right is a competitive weapon of business. To this aim, we first investigate the relationship between patent features and patent litigations, identify potential patent risk factors, and propose a method to quantitatively evaluate patent infringement litigation risk. We find that certain factors do have significant impacts on the probability for a patent to be used in a litigation. By identifying these risk factors, we may manage product development strategies and patent application strategies to avoid being litigated by competitors. The difference between patents filed before and after the Leahy–Smith America Invents Act is also reported. Internet-of-things (IoT) has become one of the most popular topics in recent years. Apart from technological issues, there are many other challenges involved in the business side of IoT product development. Patent infringement risk, for example, is one issue that cannot be ignored, and therefore it is imperative to develop an efficient and effective way of evaluating this type of risk. To understand the patent risk of the IoT industry, we use logistic regression to identify patent risk factors and quantify the risk of patent litigation by reviewing the relationship between patent features and patent litigations. Through identification of these patent risk factors, our study can help companies avoid patent litigations when developing IoT products. In order to deter competitors from market, once a competitor infringe patent rights, a patentee may choose to sue infringer. A patent infringement litigation typically has long duration. For plaintiffs, defendants, and relevant third parties, as the longer the litigation time the higher the cost, one major issue is the time length of a lawsuit. To understand what factors may affect litigation time, we conduct regression analysis to identify several litigation factors that have impact on the length of a litigation. Our finding may help parties involved in a lawsuit better estimate the litigation time length and do strategic response. This dissertation investigates the subjects about patent risk and litigation time and provides some interesting findings. Our findings may give some ideas for companies to establish patent strategies. Companies that establish better patent strategies may enhance the competitiveness.