Can IP rights be lost? That is, once IP rights are acquired, what—if anything—must owners do to keep those rights or risk forfeiting them. The answer varies widely across the IP landscape and has important consequences for follow-on innovation, competition, and the public domain. This article takes the first close look at forfeiture mechanisms throughout the five major IP regimes—utility patent, trade secret, copyright, design patent, and trademark. I demonstrate how IP forfeiture mechanisms (e.g., maintenance fees, monitoring obligations, and use requirements) have weakened or narrowed over time. Building on prior scholarship, I also delineate the important functions that IP forfeiture mechanisms serve. By forcing IP owners to decide if the cost and effort of maintaining IP rights are worthwhile, forfeiture mechanisms help eliminate low-value IP rights and enlarge the public domain, benefiting follow-on innovators and society at large. In addition, forfeiture mechanisms serve an important notice or signaling role by forcing owners to engage in acts that inform second comers about the existence and scope of IP rights. These functions are particularly important when it comes to functional or useful subject matter (e.g., innovations that make a product work). Given forfeiture's role and its problematic narrowing across the IP landscape, I suggest the need for reform—particularly in design patent and copyright law, two areas that increasingly cover functional subject matter but lack any forfeiture mechanism.

中文翻译：

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没收知识产权

知识产权会丧失吗？也就是说，一旦获得了知识产权，所有者必须采取什么措施（如果有的话）来保留这些权利，否则就有丧失这些权利的风险。答案在知识产权领域千差万别，并对后续创新、竞争和公共领域产生重要影响。本文首先仔细研究了五个主要知识产权制度中的没收机制——实用专利、商业秘密、版权、外观设计专利和商标。我展示了知识产权没收机制（例如，维护费、监督义务和使用要求）如何随着时间的推移而减弱或缩小。在之前的学术研究的基础上，我还描述了知识产权没收机制的重要功能。通过迫使知识产权所有者决定维护知识产权的成本和努力是否值得，没收机制有助于消除低价值的知识产权并扩大公共领域，使后续创新者和整个社会受益。此外，没收机制通过强制所有者进行告知第二人有关知识产权的存在和范围的行为，发挥了重要的通知或信号作用。当涉及到功能性或有用的主题（例如，使产品发挥作用的创新）时，这些功能尤其重要。鉴于没收的作用及其在整个知识产权领域的缩小问题，我建议需要进行改革——特别是在外观设计专利和版权法方面，这两个领域越来越多地涵盖功能性主题，但缺乏任何没收机制。没收机制通过强制所有者进行告知第二人有关知识产权的存在和范围的行为，发挥着重要的通知或信号作用。当涉及到功能性或有用的主题（例如，使产品发挥作用的创新）时，这些功能尤其重要。鉴于没收的作用及其在整个知识产权领域的缩小问题，我建议需要进行改革——特别是在外观设计专利和版权法方面，这两个领域越来越多地涵盖功能性主题，但缺乏任何没收机制。没收机制通过强制所有者进行告知第二人有关知识产权的存在和范围的行为，发挥着重要的通知或信号作用。当涉及到功能性或有用的主题（例如，使产品发挥作用的创新）时，这些功能尤其重要。鉴于没收的作用及其在整个知识产权领域的缩小问题，我建议需要进行改革——特别是在外观设计专利和版权法方面，这两个领域越来越多地涵盖功能性主题，但缺乏任何没收机制。