Recently, our firm won the first instance of an administrative litigation case for invalidation of an invention patent, in which it is ruled that the invention patent should be comp...
Introduction In the chemical field, it is difficult to seek invalidation of a patent claiming to have achieved unexpected technical effect. This case provides a strategy for success...
The damage of more than RMB 5.2 million is awarded! We notched the victory in the first instance of the patent infringement case concerning “spark plug”
Recently, Beijing Intellectual Property Court concluded the first instance of the patent infringement case where NGK SPARK PLUG CO., LTD (hereinafter referred to as plaintiff) sued Weichai Torch Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as the Company Torch) and Beijing Meizhong Jiaye Trading Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as the Company Meizhong Jiaye), and sided with all the basic claims asserted by the plaintiff. This patent infringement case concerning “spark plug” involved a dispute between the well-known foreign spark plug maker and a large Chinese enterprise with the damages of RMB 5 million (about USD 715,000) claimed. Patent attorney Chengsheng GUO with Linda Liu & Partners and attorney-at-law Sai CHEN with Wei Chixue Law Firm participated in the trial together as plaintiff’s litigation agents ad litem.
A public trial for this case was held on November 9th, 2021 in the Intellectual Property Circuit Court of Beijing Intellectual Property Protection Center by Beijing Intellectual Property Court. Yushui SONG, the Member of Party Leadership Group, Vice President, Chief of Political Department of Beijing Intellectual Property Court；Xinsheng PAN, the Member of Party Leadership Group, Vice President of Beijing Municipal Intellectual Property Office；Tong YI, NPC deputy; Yon sheng WANG, Deng FANG, Changyi CHEN, Xiaobing ZHAO, MPC deputy; Lishuang GUO, CPPCC Member and representatives from nearly 20 enterprises such as Baidu, Qihoo, MI, Horizon Robotics, Cambricon, Nuctech, etc., also attended the court hearing via on-line or off-line approaches.
In the litigation proceeding, the defendant once filed an invalidation request against the patent involved in the litigation owned by the plaintiff. As the agent of the plaintiff, Linda Liu & Partners responded proactively. Finally, CNIPA made the decision which maintained the validity of all patent rights, and laid a solid foundation for the infringement litigation.
On April 12, 2021, the Beijing Intellectual Property Court made a first-instance judgment, holding that the patent infringement was established, and ordering the Company Torch to stop the acts of manufacturing, selling and offering to sell which infringed the patent rights and to compensate the plaintiff for economic losses of RMB 5 million and reasonable expenses of RMB 211,162.15. The Company Meizhong Jiaye was also ordered to stop the acts of selling and offering to sell which infringed the patent rights. Now the case is under the second instance trial, and the patent attorney and attorney-at-law will continue to do their best.
As a landmark case recently concluded by the Intellectual Property Court, the case has attracted widespread attention from all walks of life. The official Weibo “Beijing Intellectual Property” of the Beijing Intellectual Property Court also reported in detail the conclusion of the case.
Should you have any questions about this case, please feel free to reach out to Linda Liu & Partners directly via linda@lindapatent.com.
