Patent Act Article 81: Non-exclusive License After Expiration of Design Right Duration

The statutory non-exclusive license under Article 81 of the Patent Act is provided because it would be unreasonable for the original design right holder to be unable to work the design after the expiration of the design right's duration. Specifically, even if a patent right and a design right conflict, if the design registration application was filed before or on the same day as the patent application, the design right holder can freely work their registered design without being restricted by the patentee. However, when the duration of that design right expires while the patent right still exists, the design right holder would no longer be able to work their design. The provisions of this Article were established because that would be overly unreasonable.

The license under Article 81 (i) does not require consideration, and (ii) its scope is determined by the scope of the design right, rather than by the scope of business or similar. Furthermore, (iii) if the design right is extinguished for reasons other than the expiration of its duration, the license under Article 81 does not arise.

・Patent Act Article 81

(Non-exclusive License After Expiration of Design Right Duration)
Article 81: Where a design right pertaining to an application for design registration filed on or before the date of a patent application conflicts with the patent right pertaining to that patent application, and the duration of that design right has expired, the original design right holder shall have a non-exclusive license on the patent right or on the exclusive license existing at the time of the expiration of the duration of the design right, within the scope of the original design right.