重思知識產權的地域性

Rethinking the Territoriality of Intellectual Property Rights

地域性是知識產權的基本屬性，是涉外知識產權法律適用和知識產權國際保護的邏輯起點。我國學界和實務界對知識產權的地域性原理依然存在諸多認識誤區。各國知識產權法與一般私法不同，並非平等的、可相互置換適用的關係。一般私法在涉外法律適用領域已經消解了地域性問題，而涉外知識產權的法律適用儘管發展出了以被請求保護地法規則為主的雙邊衝突規範，但雙邊衝突規範的適用仍須結合地域性原理。知識產權的地域性有類似於公法屬地性的方面，特別是知識產權法共享公法的單邊域外適用的方法。但知識產權地域性和公法屬地性仍有本質區別，知識產權地域性最後並未阻擋雙邊衝突規範的發展，一國法院在涉外知識產權案件中有可能適用外國知識產權法，但公法依公法禁忌原理不可能發展出雙邊衝突規範，法院一般不可能適用外國公法。知識產權的地域性不應阻礙知識產權國際私法的發展，知識產權國際私法同樣可以促進知識產權的國際保護。

Territoriality is the basic attribute of intellectual property and the logical starting for the applicable law finding process and the international protection of intellectual property rights. There are still many misunderstandings about the territoriality of intellectual property rights in academic and practical society. Different countries’intellectual property rights laws are not interchangeable, which is different from general private laws. The territoriality questions have been eliminated in the field of general conflict of laws. Although a bilateral conflict rule based on the law of the place where protection is sought, its application still needs to be combined with principle of territoriality. The territoriality of intellectual property rights has aspects similar to the territoriality of public law, especially for their extraterritorial effects. However, there are essential difference between them. In the end, the territoriality of intellectual property rights does not prevent the development of bilateral conflict rules, but it is impossible to develop bilateral conflict rules for public law, and it is also generally impossible for courts to apply foreign public law. The territoriality of intellectual property rights should not hinder the development of private international law for intellectual property rights, which can also promote the international protection of intellectual property rights.