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DEEP & FAR

 

 

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±ÂÅv§ë¸ê§@¬°«D±M§Q¹ê¬I¹êÅé(NPE)«Ø¥ß°ê¤º²£·~ªº¤â¬q

 

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B. ³sµ²¦Ü±ÂÅv

    In meeting the second requirement, NPEs may attempt to establish that many of their activities are licensing in nature.¦bº¡¨¬²Ä¤G­Ó­n¨D®É¡ANPE¥i¸Õ¹Ï«Ø¥ß¥L­Ìªº³\¦h¬¡°Ê³£¬O±ÂÅvªº©Ê½è¡C However, a 2011 Federal Trade Commission (FTC) paper suggested that the ITC consider interpreting the domestic industry requirement as not satisfied by ¡§ex post licensing activity solely focused on extracting rents from manufacturers based on products already on the market¡¨.µM¦Ó¡A2011¦~¬ü°êÁp¨¹¶T©ö©e­û·|¡]FTC¡^ªº³ø§i«ØijITC»{¬°¸ÑÄÀ¥»¦a²£·~ªº­n¨D¤£¦]¡§¨Æ«á±ÂÅv¬¡°Ê¥u»EµJ¦b®Ú¾Ú¥«³õ¤W¤w¦³ªº²£«~±q»s³yªÌ¦¬¨ú¯²ª÷¡¨¦Óº¡¨¬¡CFTCªº¥ß³õ¬OThe IFC took the position that, based on its interpretation, substantial investment in the exploitation of a patent through licensing activities should encompass ¡§ex ante licensing activities¡¨ that seeks technology transfer and the creation of new products and not ¡§ex post licensing¡¨.¡A°ò©ó¨ä¸ÑÄÀ¡A³z¹L±ÂÅv¬¡°Ê¦Ó¦b±M§Q¶}µo¤¤ªº¤j¶q§ë¸ê¡AÀ³¥]¬A´M¨D§Þ³NÂಾ©M³Ð³y·s²£«~ªº¡§¨Æ«e±ÂÅv¡¨¡A¦Ó¤£¬O¡§¨Æ«á±ÂÅv¡¨¡CThe Commission also differentiated between a ¡§revenue-driven licensing model targetingexisting production¡¨ and an ¡§industry-xreating, production-deriven licensing¡¨ model that ¡§Congress meant to encourage.¡¨ The Commission decided to give less weight to revenue-driven licensing activities.©e­û·|¤]¦b¡§¥Ø¼Ð¦b²{¦³¥Í²£ªº¦¬¯q¾É¦V±ÂÅv¼Ò¦¡¡¨©M¡§°ê·|·N¹Ï¹ªÀy¡¨ªº¡§²£·~«Ø¥ß¡B¥Í²£¾É¦V±ÂÅv¡¨¼Ò¦¡¤§¶¡§@¥X°Ï§O¡C©e­û·|¨M©w¹ï©ó¦¬¯q¾É¦V±ÂÅv¬¡°Êµ¹¤©¸û¤pªºÅv­«¡C¦Ó¥B¡AAs discussed above, moreover, an NPE's patent litigation expenses do not automatically qualify as investments in the exploitation of a patent through licensing.¦p¤W©Ò­z¡ANPEªº±M§Q¶D³^¶O¥Î¤£·|¦Û°Ê¦¨¬°³z¹L±ÂÅvªº±M§Q¶}µoªº§ë¸ê¡CThus, NPEs, with business models focused primarily on licensing, may potentially be given less weight when attempting to establish this nexus.¦]¦¹¡A¨ã¦³¥D­n°¼­«©ó±ÂÅvªº°Ó·~¼Ò¦¡ªºNPE¡A¸Õ¹Ï«Ø¥ß³oºØ³sµ²®É¡A¥i¯à·|¼ç¦b¦a³Qµ¹¤©¸û¤ÖªºÅv­«¡C

 

C Nexus to the United StatesC.³sµ²¦Ü¬ü°ê

    An NPE's geographically diverse patent portfolio may take it difficult to establish a nexus between the asserted patent and the United States.¤@­ÓNPEªº¦a²z¦ì¸m¤À´²ªº±M§Q²Õ¦X¥i¯à¨Ï¥¦Ãø¥H«Ø¥ß¨tª§±M§Q»P¬ü°ê¤§¶¡ªº³sµ²¡CForeign activity surrounding a patent portfolio, including licensing personnel located at foreign facilities and/or involving foreign patents, may obscure the strength of the US nexues.³ò¶±M§Q²Õ¦Xªº°ê¥~¬¡°Ê¡A¥]¬A¦ì¦b°ê¥~³]³Æ¤Î/©Î¯A¤Î¥~°ê±M§Qªº±ÂÅv¤H­û¡A¥i¯à¼Ò½k¤F¬ü°êÁpµ²ªº±j«×¡CAs such, NPEs likely should attempt to demonstrate that certain licensing investments were not related to activities occurring outside the United States.¥¿¦]¬°¦p¦¹¡A NPE¥i¯àÀ³¹Á¸ÕÃÒ©ú¬Y¨Ç±ÂÅv§ë¸ê»Pµo¥Í¦b¬ü°ê¥H¥~ªº¬¡°Ê¬O¤£¬ÛÃöªº¡C

 

D. SubstantialityD.¹ê½è©Ê

    Whether an NPE's licensing investments will be considered substantial may depend on the nature of the industry and the complainant's resources.NPEªº±ÂÅv§ë¸ê¬O§_±N³Qµø¬°¹ê½èªº¡A¨ú¨M©ó²£·~ªº©Ê½è©M­ì§iªº¸ê·½¡CHowever, no bright-line benchmark is available for NPEs.µM¦Ó¡ANPE¨S¦³©ú½Tªº°ò·Ç¡CInstead, NPEs should strive to appropriately allocate licensing expenses to the asserted patent.¬Û¤Ïªº¡ANPEÀ³¤O¨D¾A·í¤À°t±ÂÅvªá¶O¦Ü¨tª§±M§Q¡COnce allocated, a comparison between those allocated investments and the NPE's overall licensing investments may be considered, as should comparing the NPE's allocated investments to those of the industry as a whole.¤@¥¹¤À°t¡A¥i¯à¦Ò¼{¨º¨Ç¤w¤À°t§ë¸ê©MNPEªº¾ãÅé±ÂÅv§ë¸ê¤§¶¡ªº¤ñ¸û¡A¦³¦pÀ³¸Ó±NNPE¤w¤À°t§ë¸ê»P²£·~ªº¨º¨Ç§ë¸ê§@¬°¤@­Ó¾ãÅé¬Û¤ñ¸û¡CIn other words, information relating to the context of licensing activities may prove important.´«¨¥¤§¡A»P±ÂÅv¬¡°Êªº¯ßµ¸¦³Ãöªº¸ê°T¥i¯àÃÒ©ú¬O­«­nªº¡C