隨著現代生活步調之日益加快,速食文化的流行深深影響著現今之消費模式,消費者喜新厭舊之消費模式與態樣比起過去更是有過之而無不及。因此,當廠商欲設計開發一商品時,如何最快、最具效率地吸引消費者注意,最直接的方式即是直接透過視覺訴求-以商品之設計外觀,來抓住消費者的目光。所以,商品的外觀設計對商品在市場上之受歡迎度與銷售量,扮演著相當重要的角色。 因此,當廠商欲開發設計一商品外觀時,其從設計階段、至原型階段、最終到成品階段所所投入之金錢、人力與精神心力,應如何受到智慧財產權保護之評價,則成為相當重要的議題。 是故,本論文擬以廠商之角度作出發,來檢討商品設計外觀所可能涉及相關之智慧財產權保護規範。又,基於商品設計外觀本質上之特殊性使然,除了一向是作為產品外觀造型保護制度之「新型專利」與「新式樣專利」外,當商品的外觀造型純粹係尋求視覺上突破所為之設計,可能具有美學內涵,而有解釋為應用美術著作之空間,得受著作權保護;另外,於現行商標法承認立體商標後,其亦有可能受商標權之保護;再者,令人印象深刻之商品設計外觀亦可能符合公平交易法上「表徵」之意義,而有適用公平交易法之可能。因此,商品設計外觀於智慧財產權體制中應如何定位,有無同時獲得不同規範保護之可能,不同規範發生競合時應如何處理,均有待進一步釐清。由於各種不同規範之交錯適用一向是法律解釋適用上之難題,因此,本論文將著重於釐清各種規範間之關係,以解決智慧財產權規範間於交錯適用時所可能出現之相關爭議,而使生產廠商能尋求對其商品設計外觀之最適保護途徑,以符合其創作之期待,進而促進整體產業之發展。
A successful product usually has an appealing, attractive configuration. Through the design of product configuration, it makes the fastest way to catch consumers’ eyes, so “product design” becomes the crucial issue for every company in inventing or promoting a new product. Furthermore, how to evaluate the design configuration of product appropriately in intellectual property field seems to be an important and interesting theme. This thesis standing on the manufacturer’s point of view tries to figure out the intellectual property protection of product configuration in different design processes. Under our law system, when the product with design configuration is ready to enter the market, it may involve several kinds of intellectual property law, such as patent law, copyright law, trademark law and unfair competition law. When it comes to varied protection of intellectual property-design patent, applied art (copyright), trade dress (trademark), it is always a truly difficult situation to face. Therefore, the thesis attempts to unravel the problem by rethinking the core essence of each intellectual property law, and provides the proper way in protecting the design configuration of product for manufacturer or companies to choose.