专利权国际用尽规则改变打开“二手货”进军美国的大门（双语）-新闻中心-深圳韦恩金知识产权代理有限公司官方网站

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专利权国际用尽规则改变打开“二手货”进军美国的大门（双语）

2017-09-22 文章来源智南针网

作者：Gary M. Hnath, Paul W. Hughes, and Jing Zhang

编者按

如果你的公司在中国从事收购、维修和销售二手电脑生意，但所经手的电脑受美国专利保护该怎么办？你是否可以在中国收购二手电脑，经过修理后卖到美国？

2017年5月30日，美国最高法院在Impression Products vs. Lexmark International一案中判定专利权人的权利在授权美国境外产品销售时已用尽。这一判决改变了美国多年来的判例规则，中国企业购买专利权人在美国以外销售的产品并进行维修后重新卖回美国的大门也被打开。

Your company in China is in the business of buying used computers, repairing them, and reselling them. What if the computers are covered by U.S. patents? Can you collect the used computers in China, repair them, and resell them in the United States?

如果你的公司在中国从事收购、维修和销售二手电脑生意，但所经手的电脑受美国专利保护该怎么办？你是否可以在中国收购二手电脑，经过修理后卖到美国呢？

Until recently, the answer to that question was “no.” In an earlier case decided in 2001, Jazz Photo Corp. v. United States International Trade Commission, the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals had decided held that U.S. patent rights were limited to the U.S., and that sales of products outside the U.S. did not exhaust a patent owner’s rights.

之前，对该问题的回答都是：“不可以”。早在2001年的一个案件中，爵士影像公司（Jazz Photo Corp.）与美国国际贸易委员会（United States International Trade Commission）对簿公堂，美国联邦巡回上诉法院裁定，美国的专利权虽仅限于美国境内，但在美国以外销售产品不会用尽其专利权。

In an important case recently decided on May 30, 2017, Impression Products v. Lexmark International, the U.S. Supreme Court changed the law and decided that a patent owner’s rights are exhausted by the authorized sale of a product outside of the United States. As a result of the decision, Chinese companies can now purchase products that have been sold by the patent owner outside of the United States, repair those products, and resell them in the United States without infringing any U.S. patents relating to the products.

然而，2017年5月30日，在印象产品公司（Impression Products）与利盟国际公司（Lexmark International）的案件中，美国最高法院更改了法律，并判定专利权人的权利在授权美国境外产品销售时已用尽。基于这一判决，中国的公司如今可以购买专利权人在美国以外销售的产品并进行维修后重新卖回美国，而不用担心会侵害与该产品有关的专利权。

This article will summarize the Impression Products decision and, at the same time, provide some insights into how one can successfully bring a case before the U.S. Supreme Court.

本文将总结印象产品公司一案的判决，同时分析如何在美国最高法院进行辩护。

The Impression Products case involved toner cartridges used in laser printers. Lexmark designs, manufactures, and sells toner cartridges to consumers in the United States and worldwide. When toner cartridges run out of toner, they can be refilled and used again. This creates an opportunity for other companies, known as “remanufacturers,” to acquire empty Lexmark cartridges, refill them with toner, and then resell them at a lower price than new cartridges or refilled cartridges sold by Lexmark.

印象产品公司案涉及用于激光打印机的墨粉盒。利盟国际主要从事墨粉盒的设计、制造和销售，产品面向美国和全球的消费者。当墨粉盒的墨粉用完时，可以填充墨粉并重新使用。这为其他公司（即“再造商”）创造了商机。这些再造商收购空的利盟墨粉盒，重新填充墨粉，然后以比利盟的新墨粉盒或再填充墨粉盒更低的价格再次销售。

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