Exhaustion of intellectual property rights, also known as "exhaustion of rights", is a restriction on the provision of exclusive rights objects to the public based on the purpose of encouraging the dissemination and application of knowledge to ensure the second time The intellectual property environment for transactions and second-hand markets is stable to ensure the normal circulation of goods in the market.

The theoretical basis of the principle of exhaustion of rights in intellectual property rights. From the perspective of the function of intellectual property rights, the theoretical basis of the exhaustion of rights is the return of economic benefits. The establishment of the intellectual property system aims to protect the rights of inventors and creators of works, so that they can fully utilize their intellectual products to realize their own economic interests without anyone else competing with them. The principle of exhaustion of rights is a restriction on the rights of intellectual property owners. It is set up to balance the negative effects of the exclusive rights of intellectual property owners. Its main purpose is to impose necessary restrictions on the rights of intellectual property owners. , to avoid excessive monopoly and hinder the free circulation of products. After the intellectual property owner has exclusively manufactured and sold its intellectual property products based on the provisions of the law, he has obtained the economic benefits he deserves from this exclusive manufacturing and sales activities, and the basic functions of the intellectual property have been realized. The intellectual property system gives the right holder exclusive rights, ensuring that the right holder can make full use of his intellectual achievements to manufacture and sell intellectual property products without being counterfeited or imitated by others, thereby realizing his own economic interests. After the right holder obtains sufficient economic benefit returns (second return of benefits) by relying on this exclusivity guarantee condition, the function of the intellectual property has been realized, and he should not continue to exert further control over the intellectual property product. Otherwise, it will hinder the circulation of commodities and harm the interests of the public.

The "Trademark Law" stipulates "exhaustion of trademark rights", which means that for goods that have been licensed by the trademark owner or put on the market in other legal ways, others can use them without the permission of the trademark owner after purchasing them. Goods bearing the trademark may be sold or otherwise made available to the public, including use of the trademark in advertising for this purpose. After the trademark rights are exhausted, if others continue to use the trademark in trade activities to resell or distribute the goods that have been sold, it does not constitute infringement.

The "Copyright Law" stipulates that the right of distribution can be exhausted once, which is a restriction on the right of distribution by the Copyright Law. Its meaning is: although the copyright owner has the right to provide the original or copy of the work to the public by transferring ownership, However, after the original work and authorized legally produced copies of the work are first sold or donated to the public with the permission of the copyright owner, the copyright owner has no right to control the re-transfer of the specific original or copy.

In the field of patent rights, once a patented product manufactured or imported by the patentee himself or a patented product authorized by the patentee to be manufactured or imported by others or a product directly obtained according to a patented method is put on the market, The patentee loses control over its patented product. If the assignee or other person of the product uses, sells or offers to sell the patented product, it will not be deemed as infringement. From the perspective of ownership, the principle of exhaustion of rights is reasonable. The assignee of a patented product acquires ownership of the product after paying the price of the product. As the owner, the assignee of the patented product is of course free to dispose of the product. There is no difference between patented products and general products here. It's just that there are two different rights on patented products at the same time, namely patent rights and ownership, but these two rights belong to different rights holders - the patentee and the assignee of the patented product. The transferee of a patented product only obtains ownership of the patented product, and the patent right still belongs to the patentee (intellectual property rights are separated from the property rights of the carrier) - the principle of patent exhaustion is applied, which is reflected in the right to use and use the product. The right to sell should be exhausted, otherwise it would be meaningless for the assignee of a patented product to purchase the product.

Legal basis:

"Copyright Law of the People's Republic of China"

Article 11

Copyright belongs to the author. Except as otherwise provided for in this law.

The natural person who creates a work is the author.

For works hosted by a legal person or an unincorporated organization, created on behalf of the will of a legal person or an unincorporated organization, and for which the legal person or unincorporated organization assumes responsibility, the legal person or unincorporated organization shall be regarded as the author.

Article 12 The natural person, legal person or unincorporated organization who signs the work is the author, and the corresponding rights exist in the work, unless the contrary is proved.

Authors and other copyright holders can register their works with registration agencies recognized by the national copyright authorities.

The provisions of the previous two paragraphs shall apply with reference to the rights related to copyright.