未经许可改进他人技术秘密申请专利的权利归属问题研究
Study on the Ownership of Patents for Improving Others’ Trade Secrets without Permission

最高人民法院知识产权法庭发布的“裁判要旨(2020)摘要”确立了未经许可改进他人技术秘密申请专利的权利归属问题的裁判规则，然而该规则仍有值得商榷之处。技术秘密权利人与改进人共有专利权模式缺乏形成共有关系的法律基础，同时也为各方行使专利权设置了诸多障碍，原权利人模式及改进人模式也有各自的短板。专利权原则上归属于原权利人，在改进人的创造性贡献显著高于原权利人的例外情况下归属于改进人的模式有助于更好地平衡各方利益，促进技术进步，同时提高技术方案的利用效率。
The “Summary of Decisions (2020)” issued by the Intellectual Property Court of the Supreme People’s Court establishes the rules for deciding on the ownership of patents for improving others’ trade secrets without permission. However, the legitimacy of these rules remains open to question. The model of patent rights shared between the owner of the trade secrets and the improver lacks a legal basis for the formation of a joint relationship, and at the same time creates a number of obstacles to the exercise of the patent rights by all parties. And the original right holder model and the improver model also have their own shortcomings. In principle, the patent right belongs to the original right holder, but in exceptional cases where the inventive contribution of the improver is significantly higher than that of the original right holder, the model of belonging to the improver can help to better balance the interests of all parties, promote technological advancement, and improve the efficiency of the use of technological solutions.