What problems exist in the current stage of e-commerce intellectual property rights?

In the era of knowledge economy, due to the widespread application of computer network technology and digital technology, people’s intelligence and the high-speed operation capabilities of computers The collection and integration create new social productivity, enrich a large number of activities such as e-commerce, and meet people's various needs for social interaction, shopping, learning, consumption, medical care, etc. The most involved issue in e-commerce activities is intellectual property rights. E-commerce activities make the circulation of some commodities "invisible" in the network environment.

Business activities such as negotiating, signing contracts, ordering goods, and finally obtaining goods on computer networks have created new problems in the protection of intellectual property rights. It mainly includes copyright issues in e-commerce, patent issues in e-commerce, domain name and trademark issues in e-commerce, etc. In e-commerce transmitted over the Internet, the invisible sales of copyrighted products have been involved, creating new issues in copyright protection. In particular, new issues have arisen that are fundamentally different from traditional protection, such as online trademark and commercial identity protection, goodwill protection, and commercial image protection. E-commerce has had a great impact on my country's copyright law and trademark law in the network environment.

Like traditional business activities, there are also issues of intellectual property protection in e-commerce activities. However, my country's existing regulations on electronic information and commercial trade do not cover all aspects of intellectual property protection in e-commerce. Incomplete legislation creates obstacles to business trade. People cannot accurately grasp the legal nature and validity of information provided in non-traditional written forms, nor can they fully trust the security of e-commerce.

3.1.1 Copyright protection issues on the Internet

The core content of copyright protection is to protect the rights of copyright owners to control the dissemination and use of works. Under traditional communication technology conditions, rights such as reproduction rights, distribution rights, and broadcast rights basically guarantee the copyright holder's control over copyrighted works. However, in the online environment, copyright holders face serious threats of "out of control" of their works.

Copyright infringement problems on the Internet are mainly manifested in:

(1) Direct infringement, copying, publishing, distributing, adapting, etc. in any way without the permission of the author or other copyright holders. Translation, broadcasting, performance, exhibition, filming, etc., all constitute direct infringement of copyright. In addition, the issue of infringement liability of Internet service providers due to the infringement of their service providers and the automatic copying of their computer systems in the process of providing services is still within the scope of debate and requires further clarification in legal provisions.

(2) Indirect infringement mainly refers to the infringement liability borne by Internet service providers (ISPs) and network owners due to users' infringements. On the issue of indirect tort liability on the Internet, the extent of liability that service providers should bear is also under study.

3.1.2 Patent protection issues on the Internet

Network technology has also raised a lot of issues in the patent field. For example, whether computer software can become an object protected by the patent system; the breadth and openness of the Internet poses challenges to the "novelty" characteristics of patents; in addition, the legal issues involved in the electronic application method of patents, etc., are all Issues that need to be discussed and resolved in a network environment.

(1) Patent protection for computer software

The laws of many countries have adopted some modifications when using copyright laws to protect computer programs, absorbing some of the principles of patent protection. content. However, different countries have different attitudes on this issue as to whether a computer program can be patented directly. According to the appendix to the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights, the things that are patentable are described as follows: “Any invention or creation, whether a product or a process, in any technical field, as long as they are novel and involve an inventive step. and have industrial applicability, can be granted a patent." It can be seen that the patent system has become a legal means to protect computer software.

At present, many people in the field of intellectual property theory believe that patent and copyright laws should be combined to achieve true protection of software.

(2) The impact of Internet on patent law

In patent law, it is generally stipulated that inventions and creations that are granted patents must have novelty. Novelty means that invention or utility model patents are granted. One of the essential elements. Traditional patent law does not stipulate what principles should be adopted when disclosing inventions and creations on Interact. Therefore, whether inventions published on the broad and open Internet are still novel is an issue worth exploring.

(3) Electronic filing issues for patents

The details of the Patent Bill Treaty (draft) and the Patent Cooperation Treaty drafted by the World Intellectual Property Organization are being revised. The legality of the electronic application was confirmed. The Japan Patent Office began accepting electronic applications for patents in December 1990. South Korea has already begun experiments in applying for patents through the Internet. The three patent offices of the United States, Japan, and Europe are preparing to apply for patents online through the Internet, and have made paperless patent documents a future development direction.

3.1.3 Domain names on the Internet

A domain name is the address of a computer connected to the Internet. The original intention of designing domain names is to facilitate computer networking and online communications. However, because of its ease It is easy to remember and has been widely used as a commercial symbol. Commercial organizations have realized the huge potential of websites as a basic means of developing e-commerce. For this reason, merchants try to use trademarks, trade names and other company iconic words as the domain names of their websites to attract original consumers and expand the popularity of the online market.

Although domain names have more and more commercial value, they lack necessary connections and communication with intellectual property systems such as trademarks and trade names. Therefore, the most urgent issue is to establish a link between domain names and intellectual property systems to reduce conflicts between the two. However, the more fundamental solution lies in "correcting the name" of the domain name. If the domain name really has the value of intellectual property, we should consider giving it the status of intellectual property and legal protection. This not only solves the conflict between domain names and intellectual property rights, but also enriches the content of intellectual property rights.

3.2 The impact of these problems on the development of e-commerce

As Internet technology matures, transactions through electronic data exchange have gradually become the main economic and trade method in the 21st century. Although my country's e-commerce trade volume is currently less than one ten thousandth of that of the United States, the development speed of my country's e-commerce is quite fast. In this virtual world, just like the real world, there are also illegal crimes and opportunistic behaviors. These behaviors have also become issues of intellectual property protection in e-commerce and also affect the development of e-commerce activities.

3.2.1 The impact of domain name intellectual property protection on e-commerce

A domain name is the address of a computer connected to the Internet. The original intention of designing a domain name is to facilitate computer Internet and online communication. However, it is widely used as a commercial symbol because it is easy to remember and easy to remember. Commercial organizations have realized the huge potential of websites as a basic means to develop e-commerce, and try to use trademarks, trade names and other company iconic words as the domain names of their websites to attract original consumers and expand the popularity of the online market. Domain names of commercial organizations are also commonly used in advertising as a sign that the commercial organization has established a presence online.

Therefore, the prerequisite for a single manufacturer to participate in global e-commerce is to register a domain name on the Internet. The technical characteristics of the domain name system determine the uniqueness of the domain name. Therefore, some people with ulterior motives have come up with the idea of ??registering other people's well-known trademarks, trade names or other signs as domain names, and then selling these domain names to the owners of their intellectual property rights at high prices. bad idea.

In some cases, the domain name registrant does not intend to squat, but uses a domain name for his or her own reasons, accidentally collaborating with others’ registered trademarks or trademarks expressed in English letters. Identical or similar, that is, domain names are the same as criminal offenders, which are very harmful to the development of e-commerce on the Internet.

This kind of behavior has been subject to legal sanctions in the United States, the United Kingdom and other countries. Those squatters who have registered dozens or hundreds of other people's well-known trademarks or business names are forced to return the squatted domain names to the owners of the intellectual property rights. .

The latter is purely a conflict of rights caused by the domain name. To resolve the dispute, we must first give the domain name the intellectual property status and corresponding legal protection it deserves, and then formulate the relationship between the domain name and the registered trademark. legal rules. In this way, conflicts between domain names and trademarks will not be difficult to resolve. There are currently no clear domestic or international intellectual property laws to protect domain names. This "unable" state will hinder the further development of global e-commerce.

3.2.2 The impact of copyright and intellectual property protection on e-commerce

In my country’s copyright law, there are no corresponding legal provisions for the digitization of works and the online dissemination of works. This situation has changed the subject and object of works in the network environment, and the existence of information network works, multimedia works and derivative works generated by tools has caused hardships in the classification of works. This affects the identification of subject qualifications in e-commerce activities.

Second, it is difficult to define the boundaries of personal fair use of works. Especially in the Internet environment, the separation of economic benefit acquisition and work form makes it difficult to draw a clear line between profit and non-profit.

Third, the protection of users’ legal rights is affected. In the Internet environment, there are conditions and environments where users can passively obtain works, which is very likely to infringe on users' legal rights. Therefore, in order to protect the interests of copyright holders of all parties and promote the development of e-commerce, the protection principles and priorities of my country’s copyright law should be adjusted and adjusted with the advancement of computer network technology and applications.

3.2.3 The impact of the protection of technological achievements in e-commerce on e-commerce

Technical achievements are the creative intellectual achievements of innovators, including new technologies, new products, new processes and new materials . The technological achievements in e-commerce include not only the goods themselves traded through the Internet, but also innovative trade skills in the transaction process. With the continuous development of information technology, the variety of goods in e-commerce has increased, and trade techniques have emerged in an endless stream. It is difficult to effectively protect all aspects of these technological achievements by copyright law alone. Therefore, it is necessary to explore this and find new ways of protection.

(1)Patent protection.

Innovators apply for patents from the State Intellectual Property Office, publish their technological achievements, and are protected by the patent law. This is an effective way for innovators to enjoy patent monopoly rights and increase the value of technical information. Because once an innovator obtains the exclusive right to a technological achievement, the longer it is used and the wider the scope, the higher its value (before the emergence of new alternative technologies, its value can be accumulated indefinitely), and the right holder has For your own use, you can also earn extremely generous profits through rights transfer and licensing.

(2) Trade secret protection.

In our country, according to Article 10 of the "Law of the People's Republic of China and the Anti-Unfair Competition Law", trade secrets refer to "secrets that are not known to the public and can bring economic benefits to the right holder, It becomes a trade secret only when it is practical and the right holder takes confidentiality measures." In e-commerce, trade secrets include technical secrets and operating secrets, such as computer software, customer orders, cost accounting sheets, accounting methods, market research reports, marketing strategies, and logistics distribution processes. Trade secrets are of high value, which is reflected in the fact that their current or future use will gain actual or potential competitive advantages for the right holder.

Therefore, companies often take various measures to protect their trade secrets, and some companies may use any means to steal the other party's trade secrets in order to save money or understand their opponents' situation. In order to protect the legitimate rights and interests of enterprises, many countries have stipulated trade secret rights to relieve the rights of innovators of technological achievements.

Under the conditions of e-commerce, our country must take corresponding measures to avoid damage to interests.

5.1 Carry out government e-commerce demonstration projects and improve national e-commerce intellectual property protection awareness

From the current situation of e-commerce development in my country, although e-commerce involves many fields and diverse forms, Industry and regional differences are large, corporate management levels vary, and understandings of e-commerce are not uniform. Therefore, our government should appropriately carry out necessary e-commerce demonstration projects, focus on pilot projects, focus on publicity and guidance, gain experience on the basis of pilot projects, gradually promote them, popularize basic e-commerce knowledge on the basis of publicity, and improve national e-commerce knowledge. Awareness of property rights protection attracts more companies or consumers to join the ranks of e-commerce and guides them to effectively accumulate and protect intellectual property rights.

5.2 Strengthen the construction of information infrastructure and standardize the network platform of e-commerce

As an information service system, e-commerce uses Internet technology as the network connection platform. This open network platform makes the security protection of e-commerce particularly important, and the security protection of e-commerce inevitably involves the intellectual property issues of e-commerce. Therefore, the standardization of e-commerce platforms is conducive to promoting the protection of e-commerce intellectual property rights. In order to standardize the e-commerce network platform, our country must increase investment in information infrastructure construction and develop encryption technology similar to IBM's "key container", firewall technology, and hardware and software technology products with information assurance functions to ensure The security and integrity of information during transmission.

5.3 Work closely with the international intellectual property community to explore a domain name system with Chinese characteristics that complies with international standards

Only by revising and improving my country’s existing relevant laws based on national conditions can we Domain name rights should be effectively protected. At present, no country has promulgated special laws and regulations on domain name protection. Our country's legislative countermeasures in this regard can draw on the legislative experience in other related fields and some common international practices to make relevant intellectual property laws related to domain name rights. regulations, thereby providing a legal basis for the protection of domain name rights.

5.4 Revise China’s Copyright Law to fully take into account the new requirements for international copyright protection in e-commerce

The current China Copyright Law generally has outdated content, even for online information copyright protection The explanation is also very vague, which can easily lead to infringement disputes and arbitrary trial results, and it cannot meet the needs of copyright protection in e-commerce. The existing provisions of China’s copyright law on “copying,” “fair use,” and “copyright protection period” need to be revised or new content added based on China’s actual situation and fully taking into account the new requirements for international copyright protection in e-commerce.

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