Panel industry patent litigation, how to deal with enterprises?

For high-tech enterprises, technology, law and business operation are the troika that drives the enterprise. Technology is the foundation that underpins legal and business operations and is the foundation of business. In terms of technology, patent warfare is the best way to reflect the technological strength of enterprises. In the LCD panel industry, especially so, frequent patent litigation cases, making the media and the public will focus on the industry again and again. Patent litigation seems to be a patent infringement dispute between enterprises. In essence, it is a competition between the patent strength of the two companies, and it also involves a fierce competition for market share.

2018The annual panel patent war was kicked off by Qunchuang Optoelectronics. Qunchuang Optoelectronics in2018Year2Month26It was announced on the 15th that a total of 17 patent infringement lawsuits had been filed with the second mainland court before the lunar new year, accusing Chongqing huike jinyu photoelectric technology, Hefei huike jinyang technology and their distributors of allegedly infringing the patent rights of qunchuang, manufacturing, using, selling and promising to sell infringing liquid crystal panel products, and using infringing products to produce televisions and other display devices. This is the first major move by a panel factory in Taiwan to file an infringement lawsuit against a mainland panel factory, opening a patent war after cross-strait panel factories compete for production capacity and talent.

Qunchuang Garland2015Year decision establishment8.6After replacing the factory, Chongqing Huike and Xianyang Rainbow successively followed up the investment and construction.8.6On behalf of the factory, both of which had resigned employees from Qunchuang to help out, and Qunchuang was seriously injured after the poaching battle. Qunchuang later discovered that the company's patents were improperly used, in order to file an infringement lawsuit, until Chongqing Huike Jinyu Optoelectronic Technology in2017It was only last year after mass production and sales of related products in the second quarter9In January, the search for evidence will be carried out, and when the relevant evidence is complete, it will be carried out this year.2Month12Day one breath lift17patent infringement lawsuit. For this counterattack, Qunchuang endured more than two years, hoping to fully defend the rights and interests of the company and shareholders with complete evidence.

Subsequently, Huike Jinyu filed a lawsuit against Qunchuang Optoelectronics.17patent, file a patent invalidation request with the Patent Reexamination Board of the State Intellectual Property Office.2018Year4In January, Huike Jinyu filed with the Fifth Intermediate People's Court of Chongqing.5A patent infringement lawsuit was filed. The lawsuit claimed that Ningbo Qunzhi Optoelectronics Co., Ltd., Foshan Qunzhi Optoelectronics Co., Ltd. and its manufacturers of TV sets using Qunchuang Optoelectronics Panel were suspected of infringing Huike Jinyu's patent rights, and requested the court to order the defendant to stop manufacturing, selling and promising to sell products that infringe its patent rights, and to destroy finished and semi-finished products in stock.

At present, from the perspective of the market ranking of liquid crystal displays, BOE and Huaxing Optoelectronics, two large domestic liquid crystal display enterprises, firmly occupy the top two places in the domestic market, while Huike Jinyu ranks first.6Name. From the global LCD market ranking, Samsung andLGRanked in front of global LCD monitors2Group Optoelectronics ranked fifth, followed by Huike Jinyu. From the perspective of global LCD panel development, South Korea and Japanese manufacturers rank in the first echelon, while Taiwanese manufacturers and Chinese mainland manufacturers rank in the second and third echelons. However, with the rapid development of display technology and the rapid rise of domestic related manufacturers, the market share of foreign companies and some Taiwanese companies in mainland China has gradually shrunk. Today, as a large consumer market for liquid crystal displays, the Chinese mainland market has become a battleground for global panel manufacturers.

The reason why Qunchuang Optoelectronics chose to launch a patent lawsuit with Huike Jinyu lies in the rapid growth rate of Huike Jinyu in recent years, and the two are relatively close in terms of market share. Launching patent litigation with Huike Jinyu is conducive to suppressing rivals and winning market competitive advantages; on the other hand, Qunchuang Optoelectronics launched a patent lawsuit against Huike Jinyu, which is also through litigation to "test the water", for its future in-depth Chinese mainland market, to seize the market to lay the foundation for high ground.

In fact, this is only the tip of the iceberg of panel patent litigation. Every year, patent wars in the panel industry break out all over the world.

2016In, Japan Sharp (SHARP) to the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) and other agencies to sue AUO for panel infringement;

2015In 2012, Chi Mei Electronics filed a patent lawsuit against Sony in the U.S. District Court of Delaware, claiming that Sony'sPS3TV, laptop and camera infringe the company's patents;

2013Year1month,TPKA lawsuit was filed with the Xiamen Intermediate People's Court, accusing Nokia, Ophelia and other companies of infringing on their Chinese utility model patents, and demanding that they stop manufacturing and sales and make compensation;

2012In, the two South Korea panel giants Samsung andLGStart the patent litigation war.LGProsecute two Samsung subsidiaries, accusing Samsung of infringing on seven items of its own andOLEDtechnology-related patents; subsequently, SamsungLGmake a counterclaim, chargeLGDigging away several SamsungOLEDTechnical researchers;

2011In, Samsung Electronics sued Taiwan's AU Optronics and its three customers in the United States for infringing Samsung's full-panel display patent, demanding a ban on the sale of products using these panels and compensation;

2009In 2003, the U.S. International Trade Commission found that Sharp had infringed two Samsung patents and made a preliminary ruling against Sharp, prohibiting it from exporting and selling LCD-related components and products for LCD TVs, notebook personal computers and mobile phones to the United States;

2008In, Sharp filed a request to ban the import and sale of South Korea Samsung Electronics.3The lawsuit against LCD TVs and LCD monitors equipped with LCD modules; the judgment held that Samsung Electronics' production40Inch LCD TV and19Inches and30The LCD module equipped with the inch LCD monitor is suspected of infringing Sharp's large viewing angle and high response speed.3the patents;

2007Year3Month, AUO chargesLGPhilips (LPL) infringed three of its panel-related patents, the same year5In January, Chi Mei Electric also sued in a Texas court in the United States.LPLviolation of its4patent and claim compensation.

In recent years, the domestic liquid crystal display technology has developed rapidly, but there is still a large space for development. In this highly competitive industry, companies must first prevent competitors from infringing on their own intellectual property rights, but also pay attention to not infringing on the intellectual property rights of others. This requires companies to continuously strengthen technological innovation and patent accumulation, and pay attention to the world's latest The development trend of technology and the development of competitors' technological innovation. At the same time, after encountering patent litigation, the majority of enterprises should also actively respond to the lawsuit and find ways to avoid or reduce related risks as much as possible.

From a macro point of view, certain patent litigation has a certain role in promoting the development of the industry, which is conducive to increasing the importance of enterprises to the amount of patents, and then increase research and development efforts to produce high-quality patents, thereby promoting the development of the entire industry.