Balancing Interests In Cases Of Questionable Patent Validity

In an appeal case concerning a utility model patent infringement dispute, the Supreme People's Court clarified that for patents with questionable stability, courts may adopt interest-balancing measures, such as appropriately extending the enforcement period of an effective infringement judgment or requiring a compensation commitment for future benefits, so as to reconcile procedural justice with substantive fairness and promote genuinely valuable invention creations.

Company A is the patentee of a utility model patent entitled “A Sound-Absorbing and Sound-Insulating Barrier Board” (hereinafter referred to as the patent). It claimed that an insulation and protection facility for a certain highway section (hereinafter referred to as the accused infringing products) manufactured and sold by Company B fell within the protection scope of the patent. Company A filed a lawsuit demanding that Company B ceases the infringement and compensates for economic losses of CNY 1