Chen Wusheng, chairman of China Tongling Science and Technology Group, recently won a successful judgment of Sino-US intellectual property litigation issued by the US court. Although this is the first time that a China enterprise has won the case in the field of intellectual property rights between China and the United States, Chen Wusheng is surprisingly calm.
On July 1 1, the day after Chen Wusheng won the case, he attended a special study meeting on intellectual property rights held in China National Intellectual Property Administration at the invitation of China National Intellectual Property Administration and gave a report. He gave a detailed introduction to the intellectual property work of Tongling Technology Group and related foreign-related intellectual property litigation procedures to China National Intellectual Property Administration officials. This seminar on intellectual property rights is also the first time that China National Intellectual Property Administration invited entrepreneurs to give lectures on intellectual property rights in China National Intellectual Property Administration.
Win the first case of intellectual property rights between China and the United States
"This is a war without smoke. Failure to fight means that the technological commanding heights and intellectual property rights of the industry will always be subject to people, and we can only do low-end industries for others. " Chen Wusheng told China Economic Times reporter. Speaking of the intellectual property dispute between China and the United States that began three years ago, Chen Wusheng seems to have returned to that painful era.
In 2004, GFCI produced by Tongling Technology Group? Ground fault circuit breaker products entered the United States and quickly occupied the mainstream market in the United States. It is reported that GFCI products have a huge market of $3 billion a year in the United States, which has caused panic among American counterparts. From April to July of that year, Lefton Company, an American electrical giant and a fortune 500 company, sued four American distributors of Tonglin Company in the district courts of three American states.
Chen Wusheng recalled that the moment they got the indictment, their first feeling was panic, because Lefton Company fought 38 lawsuits in 39 years, all of which forced their opponents to choose reconciliation. This time, Lefton also sent a team of seven big-name lawyers to send an indictment to New Mexico. "They obviously want to tell us that this is a very cruel and unequal contest. Coupled with our ignorance of American law, it is quite scary. " To this end, the company discussed for three days and nights and thought that the company did not infringe Lefton's intellectual property rights. Finally, the company insisted on defending rights in the local courts in the United States according to law.
In order to protect the legitimate rights and interests of American customers, Psychic Technology went to the United States to take the initiative to join the lawsuit as a manufacturer, demanding to bear all the litigation costs and infringement guarantees of the defendant, and successfully transferred all the cases to the federal district court in New Mexico, USA. Finally, it won two "Marman Orders" signed by the U.S. District Court, which was the first "Marman Orders" for China enterprises to defend their rights overseas in the United States. "Marci Manding" is the only important legal evidence for the court to judge whether the defendant has infringed.
On July 10, Judge Browning of the Federal District Court of New Mexico sued Tonglin Group for infringing its U.S. Patent No.6,246,558? The judgment was made in the following "558 patent case", and it was determined that the GFCI products manufactured by China Tongling Technology Group and sold to the United States did not infringe Lefton's "558 patent". This shows that the first Sino-US intellectual property lawsuit, which lasted more than three years and cost more than three million dollars, has been settled.
It is urgent to break through the intellectual property barrier.
Yao Wenping, vice president of China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Mechanical and Electrical Appliances, believes that the award-winning result not only indicates that Tongling Science and Technology Group has independent intellectual property rights and independent brands of short-circuit products, and can successfully enter and exit the US market, but also sets an example for enterprises in China that insist on the road of independent innovation and development. It is also a favorable response to China's bad attempt to abuse intellectual property rights and vilify China's product image.
According to reports, after 20 years of rapid growth, the export of mechanical and electrical products in China has increased from1680 million US dollars in 1985 to 549.4 billion US dollars in 2006. It has increased by 254 times in 20 years. The proportion in foreign trade exports increased from 6. 1% in 1985 to 56% in 2006. The proportion of mechanical and electrical products in world exports rose from 0.25% to 9%. China's exports of mechanical and electrical products have jumped to the third place in the world, second only to Germany and the United States.
But there are more and more trade frictions against China's export products. Since China's entry into WTO, China's mechanical and electrical products have frequently encountered many cases such as foreign anti-dumping and intellectual property disputes, involving billions of mechanical and electrical products. In the United States, China's mechanical and electrical products are also frequently criticized. The United States has launched more than 60 "337 investigations" on China's export of mechanical and electrical products. China's DVD and color TV industries are deeply troubled by patent fees.
Experts believe that at present, foreign companies often set up patent networks and collect huge patent fees, which forms patent barriers for China companies. After obtaining a patent for a certain technology, some foreign enterprises apply for patents for its improved technology and peripheral related technologies, forming a patent network composed of basic technology and peripheral related technologies, thus forming a patent barrier for its strong technology that competitors cannot break through.
Yao Wenping pointed out that China enterprises should respond from three aspects: first, adhere to independent innovation, which is the soul of enterprises to improve their core competitiveness; Second, we should attach importance to intellectual property protection. Enterprises in China should not only pay attention to protecting the intellectual property rights of third parties, but also pay attention to protecting their own intellectual property rights. Third, we should pay attention to the growth mode. China enterprises should not only attach importance to export, but also attach importance to the opportunity to invest and build factories abroad, so as to make their products closer to the market and effectively avoid trade barriers.
Chen Wusheng also deeply felt that domestic enterprises should first have their own core patents as the backing to cope with foreign patent litigation and apply for patent protection from abroad in time; Secondly, cooperate with foreign law firms, deeply understand the foreign patent legal system, conduct infringement search analysis on their own patents, and obtain non-infringement legal evaluation documents; The most important thing is to dare to respond to the lawsuit and confront your opponent head-on.