JP4516661B2 - Intellectual property license agreement brokerage system and method - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a license contract mediation system and method, and more particularly, to a technology for accessing a server via a network and mediating a license contract related to intellectual property rights on the network.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Businesses such as individuals and corporations must confirm that their economic activities do not infringe on the rights of others before conducting economic activities. As one of these rights, there are intellectual property rights such as patent rights, design rights, trademark rights, copyrights, etc., but intellectual property rights are so-called intangible assets and their own economic activities are the intellectual property of other companies. It is not easy to determine whether or not the property is in conflict. In order to confirm the conflict with intellectual property rights, businesses have conventionally referred to the contents of intellectual property rights that may be related to their own economic activities, such as patent gazettes. In addition, if it is determined that the possibility of conflict is high as a result of examination, in order to obtain permission for own economic activity, it is necessary to apply for a license agreement with the right holder of the relevant intellectual property right and obtain permission. there were.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, it was extremely time-consuming to negotiate license agreements for intellectual property rights with individual rights holders one by one. A person who is going to start a new business using a network often starts up a system on a small scale by taking advantage of the characteristics of the network business. For such business operators, at the time of starting the business, obtaining a large number of license contracts for a small number of commercial transactions has been an extremely burdensome task. Of course, these business owners would like to conclude a regular contract if they can easily receive a license contract, not a license contract. Did not exist.
[0004]
In the network business, a small-scale business may discover potential demand and expand the business scale in a short period of time. In such cases, the operator may not be able to negotiate the intellectual property rights license agreement, and suddenly the intellectual property rights owner will be charged with an infringement warning, injunction, or high damages. Could be.
[0005]
On the other hand, from the owners of intellectual property rights, if a large-scale business entity seeks a license and negotiates, it is preferable to accept the license revenue. Receiving a large number of license agreements from, there was a problem that it would not be possible to expect a revenue that was commensurate with the license agreement. This is because the license contract itself requires a certain amount of work regardless of the size, but the price to be obtained is usually proportional to the business scale.
[0006]
In other words, at present, the opportunity for the “right holder who wishes to enter into a license agreement (hereinafter referred to as“ licensor ”)” and “the operator who wants to implement the rights held by this right holder (hereinafter referred to as“ license ”)” meets. However, it was not possible to promote effective use of rights. Such problems may occur when a business operator in one country develops business in another country, such as e-commerce (business on the Internet), or when a right holder who resides in a certain country has a license agreement in another country based on the rights of the other country. If the applicant wishes to do so, the opportunity for the right holder and the operator to conclude a license agreement has become apparent due to the lack of language and other differences.
[0007]
The present invention adopts the following configuration for the purpose of solving the above-described problems and easily realizing a license agreement between a right holder and a business operator on the Internet.
[0008]
[Means for solving the problems and their functions and effects]
The license agreement mediation system of the present invention is
A license contract mediation system that includes a server that stores information on intellectual property rights that are prepared according to a license contract, receives access from a client system via a network, and mediates a license contract.
Information identifying the intellectual property rights that the licensor has complied with in the license agreement Information including at least a registration number Means for accepting input,
Above By registration number License agreement conditions from the licensor for the identified intellectual property rights A condition including at least information for calculating the value of the license agreement The intellectual property rights Registration number Associated with , In the storage means in the server A license condition storage means for storing;
Information identifying the intellectual property right The registration number is The contents of the specified intellectual property rights and the duration thereof are accessed by accessing, via the network, a database stored by country with information including at least the duration of the intellectual property rights. information The contents of the acquired intellectual property rights and information on the lifetime are obtained by the registration number. In connection with the conditions of the license agreement , In the storage means in the server Specific information storage means for storing;
The client system For search by the search condition that accepted the input in Receiving access, Search the intellectual property information stored by the specific information storage means, based on the search condition Intellectual property rights that may be the subject of the license agreement Identify and identify Intellectual property rights at least The registration number and the Lifetime When Means for transmitting data to be displayed on the client system;
From the client system, Via the network, Licensee information input means for accepting input of information for identifying the licensee and conditions on the licensee side for the intellectual property right that the licensee intends to conclude a license contract among the intellectual property rights prepared according to the license agreement;
Above Read the license agreement conditions stored by the license condition storage means, Stored license agreement terms and conditions Over the network Conditions on the licensee side that accepted the input And when both match, according to the conditions of the stored license agreement, Intellectual property license agreement But Established Did A determination means for determining;
When the determination means determines that a license contract has been established, the client system via the network Including the price of the license calculated based on information for calculating the price of the license agreement In addition to outputting the conditions for the established license, Above A contract establishment means for allowing the licensee to collect the consideration of the license;
The main point is that
[0009]
The license agreement mediation method corresponding to this license agreement mediation system is:
A license contract mediation method comprising a server storing information on intellectual property rights ready to be accepted according to a license contract, receiving access from a client system via a network, and mediating a license contract,
Information identifying the intellectual property rights that the licensor has complied with in the license agreement Information including at least a registration number Input The server Accept,
Above By registration number License agreement conditions from the licensor for the identified intellectual property rights A condition including at least information for calculating the value of the license agreement The intellectual property rights Registration number Associated with In the storage means of the server Remember,
Information identifying the intellectual property right Registration number The contents of the specified intellectual property rights and the duration thereof are accessed by accessing, via the network, a database stored by country with information including at least the duration of the intellectual property rights. information The contents of the acquired intellectual property rights and information on the lifetime are obtained by the registration number. In connection with the conditions of the license agreement , In the storage means of the server Remember,
The client system For search by the search condition that accepted the input in Receiving access, Search the intellectual property information stored in the storage means, based on the search condition Intellectual property rights ready to comply with the license agreement Identify and identify Intellectual property rights at least The registration number and the Data to display the lifetime on the client system. The server Send
For the intellectual property rights that the licensee is willing to conclude a license agreement out of the intellectual property rights that are prepared according to the license agreement, the client system inputs information for identifying the licensee and the conditions on the licensee side. The server Accept,
Above Read the license agreement conditions stored in the storage means, Stored license agreement terms and conditions Over the network Conditions on the licensee side that accepted the input And when both match, according to the conditions of the stored license agreement, Intellectual property license agreement But Established Did When determined, to the client system via the network, Including the price of the license calculated based on information for calculating the price of the license agreement Output the conditions of the license that has been established and collect the consideration for the license from the licensee
Is the gist.
[0010]
According to such a system and method, a business operator who intends to receive a license agreement can easily obtain a license agreement by self-declaration. You only need to enter the terms of the contract and you can benefit both.
[0011]
Here, when inputting the conditions on the licensee side, the licensee authenticates the payment information when the license is received according to the input conditions (for example, withdrawal from a bank account or settlement with a credit card). And the like, and when it is determined that the license agreement has been established, the payment information can be paid using the authentication information thus input. This will eliminate access that you don't intend to comply with.
[0012]
Alternatively, from the licensor side, information specifying the intellectual property right to be licensed and the conditions of the license agreement for the intellectual property right are input via the network, and the input intellectual property right May authenticate that the licensor has a licensable intellectual property right. In this case, the licensor can also add a new license agreement condition regarding intellectual property rights at any time via the network. In addition, since it is possible to authenticate whether the registered intellectual property right can be licensed by the licensor, it is possible to prevent a situation where a person who does not have the license contract authority registers it.
[0013]
Furthermore, a plurality of intellectual property rights having a probability of being used in a business using a network can be collectively accepted in accordance with the license agreement. For example, in the case of e-commerce, a system in which a site is opened on a network and merchandise is shipped on demand can be considered, but such a system often involves a plurality of intellectual property rights. Therefore, it is preferable to pack such a series of intellectual property rights in accordance with the license agreement, which saves the labor for both the licensor and the licensee.
[0014]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
In order to further clarify the configuration and operation of the present invention described above, embodiments of the present invention will be described based on examples. FIG. 1 shows a hardware configuration for realizing a patent license system which is an example of an embodiment of a license contract mediation system according to the present invention. The patent license system refers to a person who owns a patent right (hereinafter referred to as the “right holder”) registers a patent right for which a license agreement is desired on the network, and a person who intends a new economic activity (hereinafter referred to as an “operator”). ) Can access the network and confirm the existence of patent rights that conflict with the planned economic activities and their contents, and after this confirmation, negotiate licenses with the owner of the conflicting patent rights on the network. This is a system realized by
[0015]
As shown in FIG. 1, hardware for realizing the patent license system includes a first terminal 80 accessed by the right holder, a second terminal 90 accessed by the business operator, and a patent license system. And a server SV owned by a provider (hereinafter referred to as a service provider).
[0016]
The first terminal 80, the second terminal 90, and the third terminal 70 are computers 80c and 90c, hard disks 80a and 90a, displays 80b and 90b, keyboards 80d and 90d, a mouse, and the like, each composed of a CPU, ROM, RAM, and the like. This is a desktop personal computer equipped with 80e, 90e and the like.
[0017]
The serial ports of the computers 80c and 90c are connected to a public telephone line PTL via a modem (not shown) as indicated by a solid line and a dotted line in FIG. The first terminal 80 and the second terminal 90 can be connected to an external network NW via the public telephone line PTL. Of course, it may be directly connected to the network using a dedicated line. Note that the Internet can be considered as such a network.
[0018]
The server SV is a computer that receives requests from the first terminal 80 and the second terminal 90 through the network NW and processes the requests. The computer includes a CPU 22 for executing various arithmetic processes, and a ROM 24, a RAM 26, a memory controller 28, a display controller 30, a serial input / output interface 32, a storage device 34, and a keyboard interface 36 connected to each other by a bus 35. , The printer interface 40 and the like. The ROM 24 is a memory in which programs and reference data necessary for executing various arithmetic processes by the CPU 22 are stored in advance, and conflicts with the registration of information on right holders and businesses and the business activities of businesses, which will be described later. Stores a program related to execution of patent right search and the like The RAM 26 is a memory for temporarily storing various data necessary for the CPU 22 to execute various arithmetic processes.
[0019]
The memory controller (MC) 28 controls signal output to the storage device 34. The storage device 34 stores various programs that are loaded into the RAM 26 and executed as needed, data input from the outside, data relating to the right holder or business operator, data relating to registered patent rights, rights holder and business. The license conditions determined with the user are stored. That is, the storage device 34 also functions as personal information registration means, right registration means, and condition storage means. Of course, in place of the storage device 34, various programs and necessary data similar to those described above are stored in the ROM 24, CD-ROM, etc. (not shown), and these various programs and data are loaded. By doing so, it is possible to make the computer execute.
[0020]
The serial input / output interface (SIO) 32 is a control unit that controls input / output of data from the outside, and the server SV is connected to an external network NW via the SIO 32. Normally, the server is directly connected to the network NW using a dedicated line. Accordingly, the SIO 32 is also realized as a network card corresponding to the protocol used in the network NW. The first terminal 80 and the second terminal 90 are also connected to the network NW, and each of the terminals 80 and 90 and the server SV adopts addresses (TCP / IP protocol) for identifying each of them on the network. IP address) is assigned. Therefore, it is possible to access the server SV from each of the terminals 80 and 90 using such an address and perform data processing and transmission / reception between the terminals 80 and 90 and the server SV.
[0021]
Although access to the server SV is permitted for all terminals, a password or the like is provided for various files and data prepared in the server SV, and a person who satisfies a predetermined condition. Is the only accessible mechanism. That is, the server SV discloses information such as an outline of service for access without a password, but various processes such as a right registration process to be described later are performed by a person who has access right by password authentication. Execute only when it is confirmed that the access is. Specifically, the server SV executes a right registration process based on an instruction from the first terminal 80, and executes a conflicting right search process based on an instruction from the second terminal 90. Contract management processing is executed based on an instruction from the terminal 80 or the second terminal 90. The detailed contents of the right registration process, the conflicting right search process, and the contract management process will be described later.
[0022]
A keyboard interface (KI) 25 controls input / output of signals from the keyboard 38. A signal from the keyboard 38 is input in the form of code information. Instead of the keyboard 38, for example, an interface for inputting voice information and information on the shape of characters is provided, and the input information is converted into digital information that can be read by the CPU 22, and this is converted into voice recognition and text. A configuration in which a character string is input after being recognized can be considered.
[0023]
A display controller (DC) 30 controls signal output to the liquid crystal display 20 as a display device capable of color display, and a printer interface 40 (PI) controls output of data to the printer 42.
[0024]
In the patent license system of this embodiment, the right holder and the operator pay the fee mediated by the license agreement from the right holder and the operator to the service provider and the payment of the license fee from the operator to the right holder. It was managed by reducing the number of points of prepaid cards purchased in advance. Therefore, the first terminal 80 and the second terminal 90 include a computer 80c and a prepaid card reader 80f and a prepaid card reader 90f connected to the computer 90c, respectively. Of course, settlement may be performed by specifying a bank account number and withdrawing from the account, or specifying a credit card number.
[0025]
Next, the contents of the patent license system executed using the above hardware will be described. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the contents of the patent license system. When the right holder accesses the server SV of the service provider using his computer, in this example, the first terminal 80, an initial screen representing the service outline of the patent license system is displayed on the display 80b. In this initial screen, when the right holder registration button is clicked using the mouse 80e, the server SV receives a notice of right holder registration and, after receiving this, transmits a right holder registration form to the first terminal 80. . As a result, the right holder registration form is displayed on the display 80b.
[0026]
The right holder registration form is a form for registering the right holder of the patent subject to the license as a member. This right holder registration form has columns for entering personal information such as the right holder name, address, telephone number, and e-mail address. Is provided. (1) The right holder enters his / her personal information in each column of the right holder registration form, and transmits the right holder registration form after the entry to the server SV.
[0027]
The server SV that has received the right holder registration form in which the personal information is entered issues a right holder ID and a right holder password that enable access to the member-dedicated site in the server SV. The password is accumulated and stored in the right holder information table QT which is one of the storage areas in the storage device 34 in a form linked to the personal information of the received right holder. The server SV notifies (2) the issued right holder ID and right holder password to the right holder who has registered as a member. Thereby, membership registration of the right holder is completed.
[0028]
As a method of notifying the right holder ID and right holder password, a method of displaying on the display 80b of the first terminal 80 based on transmission from the server SV after completion of member registration, or mail or e-mail is used. Can be considered.
[0029]
The right holder who is notified of the right holder ID and right holder password accesses the server SV again using the first terminal 80, and inputs the right holder ID and right holder password on the initial screen. By this input, it is possible to visit three member-only sites (right holder site, business operator site, and negotiation contract site) established in the server.
[0030]
The rights holder's site is a site where the right holder registers a patent right (hereinafter referred to as a license-targeted patent right) for which a license is desired to be granted to another person. When the right holder visits the site for the right holder, the server SV performs the following right registration process. That is, the server SV that has received the access signal to the right holder site transmits a patent registration form to the first terminal 80. Thereby, the patent registration form is displayed on the display 80b.
[0031]
The patent registration form is a format for registering information on the licensed patent right. The patent registration form includes the country where the licensed patent right is located, the patent number of the licensed patent right, the scope of the license, the license fee, etc. A column for entering the license conditions is provided. (3) The right holder enters information on the licensed patent right in each column of the patent registration form, and transmits the patent registration form after the entry to the server SV.
[0032]
The server SV that has received the completed patent registration form is connected to the server of the patent-related government office of the country via the network NW based on the received country name information, and based on the received patent number information, Download the specifications, drawings, abstracts, and application data for the patents to be granted. The downloaded data is accumulated and stored in the patent information table PT, which is one of the storage areas in the storage device 34, along with information on the country name and patent number of the patent right.
[0033]
In addition to the above information and data, the patent information table PT stores the expiration date of the patent term. The expiration date of the lifetime is calculated based on information such as the application date and the registration date in the downloaded application by the national patent period calculation program stored in the ROM 24. In addition, after the data such as the specification is downloaded, the information stored in the patent information table PT may be changed due to reasons such as correction of the specification, invalidity of patent, transfer of rights, and the like. In the present embodiment, in order to deal with such a change, the server periodically connects to the server of the patent-related government office in each country, monitors the occurrence of a change in the licensed patent right, and if a change occurs, Download the data such as the statement again. Accordingly, the patent information table PT is in a state in which the latest information on the license subject patent right is stored.
[0034]
Note that the country name, patent number, license condition information, description, and other data related to the licensed patent right are linked to the right holder's personal information, right holder ID and right holder password stored in the right holder information table QT. And stored in the patent information table PT. At this time, a document showing an outline of the right content created by the right holder may be attached. Alternatively, a summary created by a third party may be attached.
[0035]
Thereafter, (4) the right holder is notified that the license subject patent right has been registered. Thereby, the right registration process is completed. As a method of notifying that the licensed patent right has been registered, a method of displaying on the display 80b of the first terminal 80 based on transmission from the server SV after registration is completed, or postal mail or electronic mail is used. Can be considered.
[0036]
In the above-described manner, a large number of right holders register as patent license system members and register the patent right patents owned by each right holder. Patent right information is accumulated.
[0037]
On the other hand, when a business operator who intends to conduct economic activities accesses the service provider's server SV using his computer, in this example, the second terminal 90, the same initial screen as when the right holder accesses for the first time is displayed. Is displayed on the display 90b. When the operator registration button is clicked on this initial screen, the server SV that has received the notification of operator registration transmits an operator registration form to the second terminal 90. As a result, the operator registration form is displayed on the display 90b.
[0038]
The business registration form is a format for registering a business operator who intends to carry out his / her own economic activities without infringing patent rights as a member. The business registration form includes the business name, address, telephone number, A column for entering personal information such as an email address is provided. (5) The right holder enters his / her personal information in each column of the business registration form, and transmits the business registration form after the entry to the server SV.
[0039]
The server SV that has received the business registration form in which personal information is entered issues a business ID and business password that enable access to the member-dedicated site in the server SV, and this business ID and business operator. The password is accumulated and stored in the provider information table JT, which is one of the storage areas in the storage device 34, in a form linked to the personal information of the received right holder. The server SV notifies (6) the issued company ID and company password to the company that has registered as a member. This completes the membership registration of the business operator.
[0040]
As a method for notifying the business operator ID and business operator password, a method of displaying on the display 90b of the second terminal 90 based on transmission from the server SV after completion of member registration, or postal mail or e-mail is used. Can be considered.
[0041]
The right holder who has been notified of the right holder ID and the right holder password accesses the server SV again using the second terminal 90, and inputs the operator ID and the operator password on the initial screen. By this input, it is possible to visit three member-only sites (right holder site, business operator site, and negotiation contract site) established in the server.
[0042]
The business site confirms whether the business activity that the company intends to conduct conflicts with the patent rights of other people, and if the business site confirms that it conflicts with the patent rights of others. It is a site that confirms whether the right holder is willing to make a license agreement. When the right holder visits this business site, the server SV performs the following conflict right search process. That is, the server SV that has received the access signal to the right holder site transmits an infringement investigation form to the second terminal 90. Thereby, the infringement investigation form is displayed on the display 80b.
[0043]
The infringement investigation form is a form for filling in information on the economic activities planned by the business operator, and this infringement investigation form has a column for entering the name of the country where the economic activities are planned and the contents of the economic activities. It has been. (7) The business operator enters information on his / her own economic activity in each column of the infringement investigation form, and transmits the infringement investigation form after the entry to the server SV. Below, the name of “Japan” was entered in the column for the name of the country where the economic activity is planned, and the content of “sales of vegetables on the Internet / direct delivery of produce” was entered in the column for the content of the economic activity. A case will be described as an example.
[0044]
In addition, various modes can be considered as to how to fill in the contents of economic activities in the infringement investigation form. For example, the entry method may be changed for each industry. It is also desirable to determine the entry method in relation to the search engine described later. For example, when using a search engine with high search accuracy that can accurately determine the match between sentences, the contents of economic activities may be entered in the form of sentences. In addition, when a search engine with low search accuracy is used, several keywords representing the contents of economic activities may be entered.
[0045]
The server SV that has received the infringement investigation form after the entry activates a search program incorporated in advance in the RAM 26 in the server SV. By this activation, the server SV functions as a search engine that searches for patent rights related to the entry information based on the entry information on the infringement investigation form. Processing performed by this search engine will be described below.
[0046]
First, the search engine identifies the country name information entered in the infringement investigation form, and extracts the licensed patent right of the country name that matches the identified country name with reference to the patent information table PT. Next, the extracted data such as the description of the licensed patent right is expanded in a buffer, and it is searched whether or not these data include information on the contents of the economic activity entered in the infringement investigation form. Therefore, the possibility of conflict between the economic activity of the business operator and the licensed patent right is judged. For example, in the case where the above-mentioned contents of “sales of vegetables on the Internet / direct delivery from production area” are entered in the entry column of the contents of the economic activity, the words that are close to these two phrases are included in the claims of the specification. If the hit rate is equal to or higher than a certain value, the patent right related to the search is determined as a patent right that may conflict with the economic activity of the business operator.
[0047]
In this embodiment, the patent right to be searched by the search engine is only the license target patent right stored in the patent information table PT. However, if other patent rights are also to be searched, This is preferable in that the infringement of the patent right by the business operator can be more fully suppressed. For this purpose, for example, after starting the search engine, based on the information of the country name entered in the infringement investigation form, it is connected to the server of the patent-related government office of the country via the network NW, and the patent data of the country And search whether these data contain information on the contents of the economic activity entered in the infringement investigation form. In this way, it is possible to judge in more detail the possibility that the economic activity of the business operator conflicts with the patent right.
[0048]
(8) The search engine transmits to the second terminal 90 information such as the patent numbers of all licensed patents that have been determined to be in conflict with the business operator's economic activity. As a result, the column of the patent number that may conflict with the economic activity of the business operator, the expiration date of the patent right relating to each patent number, and the license condition information for each patent right are displayed as “Start License Negotiation”. Is displayed on the display 90b. In this case, the license condition may be hidden.
[0049]
When one patent number displayed on the display 90b is clicked using the mouse 90e, data such as a description of the patent right of the patent number is written as “self-assessment” by reading from the patent information table PT. Are displayed on the display 90b together with the buttons. When the button labeled “self-assessment” is clicked, a self-assessment program stored in advance in the ROM 24 is activated, and the server SV functions as an assessment engine. The self-assessment process performed by this appraisal engine will be described below.
[0050]
The self-assessment process is a process of displaying questions to the business operator on the display 90b, accumulating answers to the questions, and assessing the success or failure of the infringement from the accumulated answers. The questions presented to the operator are created as follows. First, a sentence described in one claim is extracted from data such as a specification, and the extracted sentence is converted into a sentence type (for example, “in”), punctuation marks, etc. Based on the above information, it is divided into constituent requirement units constituting the invention. One question is created based on one component requirement divided in this way.
[0051]
For example, if the sentence described in one claim is divided into three component requirements, component A, component B, and component C, the first question is “Economic The question “Does the activity involve an act like (component A)?” Is displayed on the display 90b together with options “Yes”, “No”, and “Neither”. When an applicable one of the three options is clicked, information on the clicked options is accumulated as a response from the operator. Such questions and answers are similarly made for the constituent requirements B and C, and the appraisal results are displayed on the display 90b according to the contents of the collected answers. For example, in the above example, when the answers “Yes” are collected for all three questions related to the constituent requirements A to C, “The economic activity you intend to use is the patent right related to the patent number XX. The appraisal result “high probability of infringement” is displayed on the display 90b.
[0052]
The above self-assessment process is a one-on-one method so that even a person who is not familiar with the patent can easily determine whether or not the infringement is successful. Can be adopted. When one patent number displayed on the display 90b is clicked, a button labeled "expert identification" is displayed on the display 90b together with data such as a description of the patent right of the patent number. By clicking the button labeled “expert identification”, it may be configured to connect to an expert computer via the network NW. According to this configuration, when the business operator determines that it is difficult to determine whether or not the infringement has succeeded, it is possible to quickly and easily apply for expert judgment.
[0053]
By conducting such appraisal, the business operator can quickly determine whether or not to continue the economic activity intended by the business operator. For example, if the total license fee for each patent right judged to have a high probability of infringement accounts for a large percentage of the expected profit amount resulting from economic activity, an immediate decision to change the content of the economic activity is made. Can be done. In addition, if the lifetime of a patent right that has been determined to have a high probability of infringement will soon expire, it is possible to wait until the lifetime expires and make a decision to conduct economic activities after the expiration.
[0054]
In addition, for patent rights that have been determined to have a high probability of infringement, if the contents of the license agreement for this patent right are reasonable, the operator generally makes an immediate contract with the right holder to expedite economic activities. Hope to expand into. Therefore, in such a case, the business operator uses the patent license system of the present embodiment to determine the patent number to be negotiated or contracted on the display 90b on which a column of patent numbers that may be in conflict is displayed. The “license negotiation start button” is clicked with the mouse 90e to activate the license agreement processing.
[0055]
The license contract process refers to the conditions registered by the patent owner, and if the business operator desires a contract under these conditions, the sales volume for which the license is requested, the period of the license, and the like are entered in the input fields on the screen. Businesses that use networks often start on a small scale initially, so the sales volume for which licenses are sought may be appropriate to the actual state of the business. Of course, in the license agreement, the minimum quantity and the like are actually determined. According to the designation by the licensor, “less than 1000”, “1000 to 5000”, “5000 to 10,000”, “1” It may be possible to select from categories such as “10,000 or more”. The period of the license may be determined freely. However, based on the intention of the licensor, “3 months”, “half year”, “1 year”, “3 years”, etc. It may be selectable. When the quantity or period is selected from several options, the license fee may be discounted as the quantity increases or the period becomes longer. In such a case, each time a quantity or period is selected, the display of the column for displaying the execution rate is changed according to the designation of the licensor.
[0056]
After inputting the conditions of the license agreement, when the button “License Cost” displayed on the screen is pressed, the license cost is calculated from the input conditions. The calculated cost is displayed on the screen. The business operator confirms this cost and enters information for deducting the cost in the input field. In this embodiment, since payment is made using points of a prepaid card that can be exchanged on the network, it is only necessary to add a check mark to the item of payment using a prepaid card, but when payment is made by debiting from a credit card or bank account. Enter the number for settlement here. After that, when the “contract” button is pressed, the contract is completed.
[0057]
In the above description, the business operator (licensee) seeking a license contract is assumed to accept the conditions presented by the licensor as they are, but the conditions presented by the licensors are too expensive to carry out the business and cannot be accepted. There are also cases where the minimum quantity is too large to handle. If business conditions such as the amount of license fees and business areas soften, and if it is determined that profits can be secured by continuing the planned economic activities, the business operator negotiates with the rights holder and wishes I want to get closer to the license conditions. Therefore, a (License Negotiation Start) button may be provided on the (9) screen to respond to the request of the business operator who wishes to negotiate based on the presented contract conditions.
[0058]
When the operator clicks a “license negotiation start” button for a patent number for which negotiation or contract is desired, the server SV considers that the contract activity between the operator and the right holder has started, and stores it in the RAM 26 in advance. Start the embedded contract management program. With this activation, the server SV executes the following contract management process.
[0059]
The contract management process is a process for managing the establishment of a contract between the business operator and the right holder. When the contract management process is activated, the operator site jumps to the negotiation contract site, opens a new window on the display 90b of the second terminal 90, and displays the entrance screen of the negotiation contract site on this window. . This entry screen is provided with a patent number entry field, a free message creation field, and a contract condition entry field. In addition, when jumping from the operator site and entering the negotiation contract site, the patent number where the “license negotiation start button” is clicked is already displayed in the entry field of the patent number. In the entry column, the license conditions registered by the right holder are already displayed. In addition, the business operator can fill in the message creation section with matters to be communicated to the right holder regarding negotiations or contracts.
[0060]
When the “Send button” displayed near the message creation field is clicked after filling in the message creation field, the server SV fills in the information such as characters entered in the message creation field with the patent number. E-mail is sent to the right holder of the patent number entered in the column. At the time of this transmission, the e-mail address of the right holder is specified by referring to the right holder information table QT stored linked to the patent number. Thereafter, free mail can be exchanged between the first terminal 80 of the right holder and the second terminal 90 of the business operator. In other words, at the negotiation stage, the negotiation can proceed without accessing the negotiation contract site.
[0061]
In addition, instead of negotiating directly using e-mail, etc., the licensor registers the allowable conditions in a predetermined range in advance, and if the offer from the licensee is within this range, the contract is automatically concluded. Is also possible. Negotiating license agreements generally requires time, so it is assumed that by registering the possible conditions in advance by repeating negotiations by e-mail etc., contract if it falls within that range, and if not, do not contract It is simple and realistic.
[0062]
After the negotiation, when the contract content is agreed between the right holder and the business operator, (10) the right owner and the business operator respectively enter the prepaid card readers 80f and 90f of the terminals 80 and 90 respectively. With the prepaid card inserted, access the negotiation contract site and enter the agreed contract conditions in the contract condition entry field on the entrance screen. After this entry, when the “contract establishment button” displayed in the vicinity of the entry column for the contract conditions is clicked, the server SV receives the fact that the contract has been established from each of the first terminal 80 and the second terminal 90. Enter information about the terms and conditions. Note that if the “contract establishment button” is clicked without a prepaid card inserted, it is prohibited to input information about the establishment of the contract and the contract conditions to the server SV. This is in order to prevent illegal evasion of the payment of the commission that mediates the license agreement from the right holder and the operator to the service provider.
[0063]
Next, it is determined whether or not the information about the contract conditions input from the first terminal 80 and the information about the contract conditions input from the second terminal 90 match. And the information on the contract condition and the contract conditions are stored in the contract information table AT which is one of the storage areas in the storage device 34.
[0064]
When the contract is established under the conditions presented by the licensor or after negotiation, (11) the server SV reduces the number of points for the brokerage fee of the license contract from the prepaid card of the right holder and the business operator.
[0065]
Thereafter, the server SV creates (12) a contract document that describes the names, locations, contract conditions, etc. of both the right holder and the business operator, and issues it to both the right owner and the business operator. As a method of issuing the contract, a method of transmitting the contents of the contract using an e-mail or the like, a method of sending the original contract by mail to both the right holder and the operator, and the like can be considered.
[0066]
The payment of the license fee from the business operator to the right holder after the contract is made between the parties, but when the license fee is paid using the patent license system, it corresponds to (13) the license fee. By transferring the number of points from the prepaid card of the business operator to the prepaid card of the right holder, the debt can be easily executed. In addition, when companies holding patent rights negotiate and enter into a contract to grant cross-licenses to each other's patent rights, it becomes possible to fulfill their obligations by offsetting the number of points on the prepaid card. There is no need to pass each other. In this embodiment, payment is made using a prepaid card. However, the prepaid card need not actually use the card or the prepaid card readers 80f and 90f. When a prepaid card is purchased, a management number linked to the amount that can be settled on the network is received in exchange for the amount paid, and the payment is managed on the network instead of reading the prepaid card. What is necessary is just to increase / decrease the money amount linked with the management number. If the amount is managed on the network, it is preferable that the prepaid card is not forged.
[0067]
In this embodiment, whether or not the licensor is a licenseable right holder is confirmed at the time of registration, but the relationship between the licensor and the rights is determined using a network resource management system such as a directory service. If a system for registration is established, when a new license agreement is registered from the licensor side, it is possible to authenticate whether or not it is a legitimate licensor by using such a directory service.
[0068]
Whether or not a license contract has been established may be verified by signing the contract using, for example, a public key. A license agreement may be made for each intellectual property right, but a plurality of intellectual property rights necessary for a possible business may be packed to meet the license agreement. In this case, it is not necessary to limit the rights of the same licensor, and the intellectual property rights of different licensors may be used as a pack, and the consideration may be distributed according to the number and share of intellectual property rights.
[0069]
The license contract mediation system of the present embodiment can be provided to the licensor for each system. In this case, the licensor directly operates the system.
[0070]
As mentioned above, although the Example of this invention was described, this invention is not limited to such an Example, In the range which does not deviate from the summary of invention, it can implement in a various aspect.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing a hardware configuration for realizing a patent license system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the contents of a patent license system.
[Explanation of symbols]
20 ... Liquid crystal display
22 ... CPU
24 ... ROM
25 ... Keyboard interface
26 ... RAM
28 ... Memory controller
30 ... Display controller
32 ... Serial I / O interface
34 ... Storage device
35 ... Bus
36 ... Keyboard interface
38 ... Keyboard
40: Printer interface
42 ... Printer
80, 90 ... first or second terminal
80a, 90a ... hard disk
80b, 90b ... display
80c, 90c ... computer
80d, 90d ... keyboard
80e, 90e ... mouse
80f, 90f ... Prepaid card reader
SV ... Server

Claims (5)

A license contract mediation system that includes a server that stores information on intellectual property rights that are prepared according to a license contract, receives access from a client system via a network, and mediates a license contract.
Information for identifying the intellectual property rights that the licensor has complied with in the license agreement, and means for accepting input of information including at least a registration number ;
A condition of a license contract from the licensor side regarding the intellectual property right specified by the registration number, and including at least a condition including information for calculating the consideration of the license contract is associated with the registration number of the intellectual property right License condition storage means for storing in the storage means in the server ;
Based on the registration number , which is information for identifying the intellectual property right, by accessing the database accumulated by country with information including at least the lifetime of the intellectual property right through the network, acquires information including the content and duration of the intellectual property rights specified, the information of the content and duration of the intellectual property rights to the acquired, in association with conditions of the license agreement by the registration number, the server a specific information storage means for storing in the storage means of the inner,
In response to an access for a search according to a search condition accepted in the client system , the information on the intellectual property right stored in the specific information storage means is searched, and the license agreement is based on the search condition It means identifying intellectual property rights, which transmits the data for displaying at least the registration number and the duration of the intellectual property that is the identified said client system which can be a,
Information for identifying the licensee and the conditions on the licensee side regarding the intellectual property rights that the licensee is willing to conclude with the license agreement from the client system via the network. A licensee information input means for receiving the input,
Read the license agreement conditions stored by the license condition storage means , compare the stored license agreement conditions with the licensee conditions received via the network, and if both match, Determining means for determining that a license contract related to the intellectual property right has been established according to the stored license contract conditions ;
When the determination means determines that a license contract has been established, the client system receives, via the network, the license of the established license that includes the price of the license calculated based on information for calculating the price of the license contract . license agreements mediation system equipped with, a contract conclusion means for enabling collect consideration of the license from the licensee side outputs the condition. The license contract mediation system according to claim 1,
When the licensee information input means accepts the input of the condition on the licensee side, the licensee accepts the payment information for accepting the payment of the consideration when the licensee receives the license according to the condition of accepting the input. With input means,
The license contract intermediary system, wherein the contract establishment means has means for receiving payment of compensation using the settlement information that has received the input when it is determined that the license contract has been established. The license contract mediation system according to claim 1 or 2,
The license condition storage means
License contract brokerage provided with license condition input means for receiving, via the network, information specifying the intellectual property rights to be licensed and the conditions of the license contract for the intellectual property rights from the licensor side system. The license contract mediation system according to claim 1,
The license condition storage means, an input from the licensor, pack Hitomato Mari multiple intellectual property with a probability that is used to project using a network using the registration number of該知ownership And a license contract mediation system comprising means for storing the conditions of the license contract in the pack . A license contract mediation method comprising a server storing information on intellectual property rights ready to be accepted according to a license contract, receiving access from a client system via a network, and mediating a license contract,
Information that identifies the intellectual property rights that the licensor complies with the license agreement, and the server accepts input of information including at least a registration number ;
A condition of a license contract from the licensor side regarding the intellectual property right specified by the registration number, and including at least a condition including information for calculating the consideration of the license contract is associated with the registration number of the intellectual property right Storing in the storage means of the server ,
Based on a registration number that is information for specifying the intellectual property rights, the information including at least the duration of the intellectual property rights is accessed by accessing a database accumulated by country via the network. Information including the contents and lifetime of the acquired intellectual property rights, and associating the acquired contents of intellectual property rights and information of the lifetime with the conditions of the license agreement by the registration number , Memorize it in memory means ,
In response to an access for a search according to a search condition received in the client system , the information on the intellectual property right stored in the storage means is searched, and the license agreement is prepared based on the search condition The server transmits data that identifies an intellectual property right and causes the client system to display at least the registration number and the lifetime of the identified intellectual property right,
Of the intellectual property rights prepared according to the license agreement from the client system, for the intellectual property rights that the licensee intends to conclude with the license agreement, input the information for identifying the licensee and the conditions on the licensee side , The server accepts,
The license agreement conditions stored in the storage means are read out, and the stored license agreement conditions are compared with the conditions on the licensee side that has received input via the network. When it is determined that a license contract related to the intellectual property right has been established according to the conditions of the license contract, the client system is calculated based on information for calculating the price of the license contract via the network. A license contract mediation method for outputting the conditions of the established license including a consideration for the license and collecting the consideration for the license from the licensee side.

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