Law.com Subscribers SAVE 30%
Call 855-808-4530 or email [email protected] to receive your discount on a new subscription.
Failure to Heed IP in China Can Be Costly
Schneider Electric, a provider of power and control solutions headquartered in France, recently announced it had settled a three-year-old patent litigation with Chint, one of the largest manufacturers of low-voltage devices in China. The settlement amount of CNY 157.5 million (~ USD 23 million) paid by Schneider is believed to be the largest for a patent litigation settlement in China. The decisive victory for Chint puts a fresh spotlight on the fast-changing patent litigation landscape in China.
Chint originally paid CNY 500 (~ USD 70) in 1997 in filing fees for a utility model application at the State Intellectual Property Office (“SIPO”) of China. The utility model was granted in a little more than 15 months without undergoing any substantive examination. The Chinese patent office grants three types of patents:
- Invention patents or 20-year patents, which are similar to utility patents in the United States and cover new technical solutions that relate to a product, a process, or an improvement thereof;
- Design patents;
- Utility models or 10-year patents. The utility models are granted for “new technical solutions that relate to a product's shape or structure, or a combination of the two, and are also fit for practical use” and do not undergo a substantive examination and are granted rather quickly, typically within a year from the filing date. Evidently, utility models or 10-year patents are a cheaper and quicker way of obtaining patent protection.
Armed with its 10-year patent, Chint sued Schneider in 2006 and was awarded the landmark judgment in 2007. The Wenzhou Intermediate People's Court ordered Schneider to pay more than CNY 330 million (~ USD 45 million) and to stop the manufacture and sale of five of its products that allegedly infringe Chint's utility model.
Why So Many Great Lawyers Stink at Business Development and What Law Firms Are Doing About It
Why is it that those who are best skilled at advocating for others are ill-equipped at advocating for their own skills and what to do about it?
Bankruptcy Sales: Finding a Diamond In the Rough
There is no efficient market for the sale of bankruptcy assets. Inefficient markets yield a transactional drag, potentially dampening the ability of debtors and trustees to maximize value for creditors. This article identifies ways in which investors may more easily discover bankruptcy asset sales.
The DOJ's Corporate Enforcement Policy: One Year Later
The DOJ's Criminal Division issued three declinations since the issuance of the revised CEP a year ago. Review of these cases gives insight into DOJ's implementation of the new policy in practice.
A Lawyer's System for Active Reading
Active reading comprises many daily tasks lawyers engage in, including highlighting, annotating, note taking, comparing and searching texts. It demands more than flipping or turning pages.
Blockchain Domains: New Developments for Brand Owners
Blockchain domain names offer decentralized alternatives to traditional DNS-based domain names, promising enhanced security, privacy and censorship resistance. However, these benefits come with significant challenges, particularly for brand owners seeking to protect their trademarks in these new digital spaces.