US media say foreign companies come to China to fight patent lawsuits: save time and money than the United States

According to Nanjing Huaxun, Ottawa-based Weilan Company filed a lawsuit against Sony in Nanjing, China last week, claiming that the Japanese company's smartphone infringed the company's wireless communication technology patent. Weilan's profits mainly come from patent licensing.

According to the report, such lawsuits by foreign patent owners against a non-Chinese company in China are not common in China. This reflects that China is for companies that retain a large number of patents and then earn income through litigation and authorization. Become more and more attractive. Litigation in China is more time-saving and cost-saving than in the United States. If the Chinese court issues an injunction, it will not only apply to products using the patent sold in China, but also to such export products produced in China. This puts the plaintiff in a better position in the negotiations between the two parties to reach an authorization transaction.

Nanjing Huaxun reported that although the Chinese market only accounts for a small part of Sony's revenue, many of the company's electronic products, including batteries, smartphones and televisions, are produced in China. A Sony spokesman declined to comment on the matter, saying the company was not allowed to talk about the ongoing legal dispute.

The company alleges that some of Sony's smartphones infringe on a patent related to the fourth-generation wireless network technology standard, long-term evolution (LTE). Welland has licensing agreements with many companies around the world. For example, the company's website shows that the company recently signed agreements with Japan's Mitsubishi Electric Corporation and China's ZTE Corporation on industrial automation and wireless technology.

Eric Robinson, a lawyer who advised Weyland on the case, said the Canadian company was aiming for a licensing agreement with Sony. In September this year, the company filed the same lawsuit against Sony in Germany, and the case has not yet been decided.

Usually, the United States is the center of such litigation, but lawyers and legal experts say that in recent years, patent licensing companies have been looking for new venues to sue. Due to the meticulous and efficient court procedures, Germany has become a popular place for patent litigation, and some potential litigants have also begun to consider suing in China.

"It's now a global phenomenon," said Joe Sinoe, head of the Via franchise, a Dolby Labs unit in the United States."

Beijing wants to develop indigenous technology and protect the patents of a growing number of Chinese companies, and China is growing rapidly with this goal. Some of China's big technology players, such as telecom equipment makers Huawei and ZTE, have built up extensive patent portfolios. The number of patents granted in China rose 54 percent last year to 359000, according to the State Intellectual Property Office.

While authorizing more patents, the Chinese government has also strengthened its patent law in recent years and set up special courts to deal with intellectual property disputes.

Legal sources say that could mean more legal challenges for foreign technology companies that already face fierce competition in China.

China's patent holders are also taking advantage of the existing system. In May, Beijing's intellectual property management department backed Shenzhen Baili Marketing Services Co.'s demand that Apple stop selling iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus handsets in the city. Shenzhen Baili, a subsidiary of Shenzhen 100% Digital Technology Co., Ltd., a failed smartphone maker, sued that Apple infringed the company's design patents.