1Practical issues in enterprises 

The technical solutions protected by patents include the technical problems solved and their corresponding technical effects. What role will the technical problem to be solved by the patent technology solution play in explaining the scope of patent protection, and what impact will it have on the judgment of patent infringement?

This article answers the above question through the dispute over infringement of invention patent rights between Rimova Co., Ltd. and Jiashan Keyue Luggage Co., Ltd.

IICase Explanation 

（1）Key points of court trial

The scope of protection of patent rights should be in line with the purpose of the invention and should not include the defects of the prior art that the patent aims to overcome. Therefore, a correct understanding of technical defects is crucial for interpreting the claims. In this case, although the first instance court was concerned about the limiting effect of the invention purpose on the scope of patent protection, it excessively adhered to the literal meaning of individual sentences in the specification when interpreting technical defects, improperly limiting the scope of patent protection. The second instance court, based on a comprehensive understanding of the claims and the meaning of the specification, correctly grasped the innovation point and invention purpose of the patent, accurately explained the existing technical defects to be overcome, reasonably defined the scope of protection of the patent right, and effectively safeguarded the legitimate rights and interests of the parties.

（2）Case Background

Zhejiang Provincial High People's Court (2019) Zhemin Zhong No. 7 Civil Judgment; Top Ten Cases of Zhejiang Province in 2019.

RIMOWA GmbH (hereinafter referred to as RIMOWA) is the owner of the invention patent with the patent number ZL200880118796.3 and the name "Intermediate Plate".

The content of claim 1 of the patent is: 1. A luggage compartment comprising at least one internal space defined by at least one wall of the luggage compartment and at least one side wall protruding from the wall of the luggage compartment, the internal space being separated by at least one intermediate plate, characterized in that at least one luggage strap is fixed to the intermediate plate at a first end, and the luggage strap is adjustably guided along the wall of the luggage compartment and at least two opposite side walls by at least two deflection devices, so that the distance between the intermediate plate and the wall of the luggage compartment can be adjusted, and the free second end of the luggage strap can also be fixed to the intermediate plate.

The patent specification states that such a well-known luggage has the disadvantage that in luggage with a middle plate, if the space of the luggage separated by the middle plate is not completely filled, the clothes transported in the luggage may move. As a result, clothing may wrinkle. The well-known drawback of luggage suitcases with luggage straps in existing technology is that when clothes are fixed by luggage straps, they may wrinkle.

Rimova Company believes that the suitcase products produced and sold by Jiashan Keyue Luggage Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Keyue Company) infringe on its patent rights involved in the case, and has filed a lawsuit with the court, requesting that Keyue Company cease infringement and compensate for economic losses of 1 million yuan and reasonable expenses of 100000 yuan. Rimova Company has clarified that it claims all rights to one of the two accused infringing products in this case, and claims all rights to the other product except for claim 3.

（3）key issue in dispute

Does the luggage strap designed by the defendant's product solve the problem of clamping luggage solved by the plaintiff's patent, and does it fall within the scope of protection limited by claim 1 of the patent in question?

（4）Court's viewpoint

oneFirst instance opinion of Hangzhou Intermediate People's Court

Based on the claims of the patent in question and the description in the specification, it can be seen that the installation of a middle plate in a luggage compartment is already common knowledge. The patent in question essentially achieves the technical effect of adjusting the space between the middle plate and the bottom wall appropriately according to the size of the luggage volume through a deflection device and an adjustable luggage strap, so as to clamp the luggage and prevent it from moving freely. The defect that this invention aims to solve is especially the problem that the luggage cannot be clamped and moved freely when there is less luggage. Considering that when the luggage compartment is placed horizontally, the height of the middle plate should not exceed the deflection device in order to effectively clamp the luggage placed in the space between the middle plate and the bottom wall. Therefore, in order to achieve its technical effect, the position of the deflection device of the involved patent technical solution needs to be as close to the bottom wall as possible. As for the two accused infringing products submitted by Rimova Company to the court, the pull ring (deflection device) of the rose colored product is set far away from the bottom wall, which makes it impossible for the luggage strap passing through the pull ring to be close to the bottom wall, and also makes it difficult for the middle plate to be as close to the bottom wall as possible. Therefore, when there is less luggage in the suitcase, an effective clamping cannot be formed between the middle plate and the bottom wall, and the luggage can still move freely. It can be seen that the product does not have the technical feature of luggage straps being guided along the bottom wall and opposite side walls of the luggage compartment, and still has the technical defects that need to be overcome by the patent in question. Therefore, the technical solution adopted is not suitable for inclusion in the protection scope of the patent in question. Ke Yue Company shall bear civil liability for ceasing infringement and compensating for losses in accordance with the law if it manufactures, sells, or promises to sell products that fall within the scope of patent protection without permission.

twoSecond instance opinion of Zhejiang Provincial High People's Court

When determining whether the technical solution of Meise's accused infringing product falls within the scope of patent protection, the protection scope of the patent claims involved should be accurately defined. Firstly, from the literal interpretation of the patent claims involved, claim 1 of the patent does not limit the height position of the deflection device on the side wall, that is, it does not limit that the luggage strap must be attached or located adjacent to the bottom wall. Secondly, based on the analysis of the technical defects to be overcome in this patent, according to the description in the patent specification, the technical defect to be overcome is that the middle plate rigidly fixed to the luggage compartment cannot adjust and divide the internal space of the luggage compartment. Again, from the analysis of the usage status of the accused infringing product, the reason why the middle plate has different inclination angles relative to the wall of the luggage depends on the amount of content placed inside the luggage. Therefore, the inability of the accused infringing product to form effective clamping between the middle plate and the bottom wall due to the amount of content does not belong to the technical defect that needs to be overcome by the patent in question.

The first instance court had a deviation in understanding the technical defects of the patent in question, and therefore made the conclusion that the height of the intermediate plate should not exceed the limit of the deflection device, which improperly narrowed the scope of protection of the patent in question. Finally, considering the relationship between the technical features and invention points of the patent in question, this patent overcomes the technical defects in the prior art that the intermediate plate cannot provide variable separation of the luggage compartment's internal space and the luggage strap is prone to wrinkling when fixing clothes. It adopts a technical means of coordinating and coordinating the work of the intermediate plate and luggage strap, that is, fixing the first end of the luggage strap to the intermediate plate, guiding the luggage strap adjustably along the luggage compartment's wall and at least two opposite side walls through at least two deflection devices, and fixing the free second end of the luggage strap to the intermediate plate. Therefore, after placing luggage in the luggage compartment, the distance between the intermediate plate and the bottom wall can be adjusted back and forth by pulling the free second end of the luggage strap until Until the satisfactory gap is reached, The very beneficial technical effect of fixing the middle plate and securely placing luggage is achieved by fixing the free second end to the middle plate. The entire adjustment process is simple, fast, and convenient. The internal structure of the luggage compartment is simple and easy to manufacture, with outstanding substantive features and significant progress. Therefore, the innovation level of this patent is relatively high. The technical solutions closely related to the invention point, such as the setting of the middle plate, luggage straps, deflection device, and the relative position and coordination relationship of the three in the luggage space, of the accused infringing product are completely identical to the technical features of the patent in question. In order to protect the true innovation points of the patent in question, it should be determined that the accused infringing product falls within the scope of protection of the patent in question.