Definition and liability of warranty obligations in technology patent assignment contracts in China
Palabras clave:
Patent Transfer, Warranty Obligations, Authenticity of Rights, Legal Validity Risks, Allocation of Transaction RisksResumen
In the practice of technology patent transfer, patent rights, as core intangible assets, often lead to disputes over guarantee obligations due to the uncertainty of rights, the variability of legal effect, and dependence on technology implementation. Current rules often conflate the authenticity of rights, legal effect, and the risk of technology utilization, resulting in excessive liability for the assignor and an imbalance in risk allocation. This article, grounded in China's current legal system and based on the Contract Law section of the Civil Code of the People's Republic of China, the Patent Law of the People's Republic of China, and relevant judicial interpretations, explores the boundary definition and liability allocation mechanism of warranty obligations in patent assignment contracts, and advocates for a categorized distinction: warranty of ownership integrity is a core statutory obligation and cannot be completely exempted; liability for legal effect risk is limited to undisclosed known or should-know defects; and the feasibility of technology should be stipulated in the contract. On this basis, a dual obligation structure of "static warranty of the authenticity of rights and dynamic early warning of known risks" is constructed. Through tiered disclosure and risk pricing, the autonomy of the parties is respected, and the generalization of liability is avoided, thereby improving transaction security, judicial predictability, and institutional rationality.
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Derechos de autor 2026 Zhenyang Zhang, Jinghui He
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