Uncover the secret weapon of beauty's continuous plus-code patent.

Who doesn't have an electrical appliance that is 'beautiful' now?

Now when it comes to household appliances, the first household appliance brand in our mind should be beautiful. We should know that Midea was founded in 1968, began to set foot in household appliances in 1980, went public in 1993, and has now entered almost every family in China. Have to say, beauty is good!

Behind this success, its intellectual property deployment has made a great effort. Relying on the large-scale investment of technology globalization, endogenous patent research and development and the blessing of overseas intellectual property risk control process, the number of invention patents has ranked first in the world for three consecutive years.

According to data from the World Intellectual Property Organization, China had the third largest number of international patent applications in the world in 2016. As of 2016, Midea Group has accumulated more than 54000 domestic patent applications, authorized 27000 maintenance, and acquired about 7500 intellectual property for transformation and integration.

Midea Group, which has always put technological innovation in the first place, has invested 20 billion billion yuan in technological research and development in the past five years. In 2016, Midea has more than 10000 R & D personnel, and the patent team has more than 90 patent engineers, all with 10 or more years of work experience. In addition to building an independent research team, a large number of "foreign aid" have been invited to establish in-depth technical cooperation with nearly 100 world-class well-known universities, research institutions and technology companies.

According to the "2017 Global Innovation Report: Endless Progress" released by Corey Weian, in the field of home appliances, the number of patents for inventions of the United States has ranked first in the world for three consecutive years, while the number of patents for both household appliances and kitchen appliances of the United States ranks first. At present, Midea has established 20 R & D centers around the world. Real globalization is not only the globalization of brands, but also the globalization of technology research and development.

In recent years, Chinese home appliance companies are speeding up the fight for the right to speak. Unlike the low-cost advantage that used to promote product exports, the hard power in the field of technological innovation has become the new trump card of Chinese home appliance companies. Midea's overall business is also more diversified overseas, from the previous traditional home appliances, now into the field of robotics, into the field of smart home, especially for these areas are closely related to intellectual property industries.

Midea Group Global R & D Center has established Academia Sinica and formed a four-level R & D system, in which the division is positioned for 1-2 years of new product development and 2-3 years of individual technology research. Academia Sinica is positioned for 3-5 years of medium-and long-term common technology research and more than 5 years of basic research and subversive research.

Midea's current patent applications are mainly endogenous, with more than 90% of its patents being original. Midea has invested a lot of resources in the early stage, so at least in the future, the source of patents is mainly endogenous, supplemented by mergers and acquisitions to obtain intellectual property rights. Therefore, the value of Midea's intellectual property rights is to protect its own business, so that this patent is finally reflected in the product, realizing the value of technology or patent.

On the other hand, overseas intellectual property risk control is like playing a game with opponents. In addition to having good weapons (high-quality patents), the more important point is to arrange troops. What kind of art of war is used is actually how to carry out patent layout. As Midea accelerates its expansion in overseas markets and risks become more pronounced, Midea's intellectual property team continues to make adjustments and changes.

Taking the "steam washing" technology of kitchen electricity as an example, we have applied for the patent of range hood with nozzle, and at the same time we have applied for the patent of nozzle angle, shape, blockage prevention and so on. There are ten patents around this small patent. There are many peripheral patents around a basic patent, and such a layout can effectively keep other competitors out of the "fence.

At present, the United States has 10 business units, a number of Central Research Institute and smart home research institute. At the same time, each division has a dedicated intellectual property team, the number of personnel ranging from 2 to 15. Half of Midea's revenue comes from overseas, so patent disputes are inevitable. The best way is to do a good job in overseas intellectual property risk control, accumulate more and better patent weapons, and you will have more voice.

News source:http://www.sohu.com/a/211347990_104421

This news was re-edited and reorganized by the Huaxun team and added analytical comments.