Trade associations: take up legal weapons
"We support this approach." Zhou Zhengxiang, vice chairman of China Battery Industry Association, said yesterday (18) that "China enterprises must not be vague. In the case of 337, our battery industry association organized several China battery enterprises to go to the United States to file a lawsuit, and we all won. Now in the domestic market, we should take legal weapons to safeguard the interests of the industry. "
"Sony has set up intelligent identification technology on the battery. At present, although there is no anti-monopoly law in China, it is very unreasonable to be suspected of monopoly, at least unfair competition. " Zhou Zhengxiang said. "When the battery has an identification code, it sets a technical threshold, which is equivalent to a key. Other companies don't have this key, only Sony products have this key. No one else can get in. "
"The batteries in China are as good as those abroad. We have a large number of testing departments and testing reports. Customers can also test it. Now customers want to use it and can't use it. " Zhou Zhengxiang said.
"It is useless to tell consumers that domestic brand batteries are actually very reliable. The point to be made now is that it is unfair for Sony to set up this technology. " Zhou Zhengxiang said.
Domestic enterprises: It is a bit difficult to sue Sony.
Zhuo Rongbo, intellectual property legal department of domestic battery manufacturer BYD Co., Ltd. said: "Sony's intelligent identification of battery settings is a monopoly, and BYD is very supportive of Sichuan Dexian Technology." He repeatedly stressed to reporters: "Sichuan Dexian Technology is not hype. It is normal for any battery factory to sue Sony. "
In 2003, BYD was sued by Sony in Japan for infringing Sony's lithium-ion battery patent, demanding that BYD be prohibited from selling the battery in Japan.
The general manager of Beijing Battery Factory, a research and development institution in Hong Kong, told the reporter that Sony's "infolithium" technology has been registered for a long time, so the probability of successful prosecution is almost zero.
He believes that infolithium technology, in Sony's own words, increases the function of accurate display of batteries, but it is indeed exclusive to products compatible with other manufacturers, and Sony has always refused to provide patented technology to other manufacturers. From this perspective, it is indeed possible to be sentenced to monopoly. However, at present, the domestic laws are not perfect, and the symbolic significance of such lawsuits is greater than the actual significance.
Sony seal
Sony: Let the law judge right and wrong.
In the face of our reporter's telephone inquiry, Yan Juan, the media public relations department of Sony (China) Co., Ltd., repeatedly said: "Please ask media reporters not to continue to report this matter, and some of them must be judged by law."
Since this newspaper published an article entitled "Sony China is suspected of monopolizing batteries and setting up technical barriers for intelligent identification" on June 65438+ 10/7, the telephone number of the public relations department of Sony Media has been busy, and media reporters have been calling to ask about Sony's lawsuit.
Sony has sealed this matter from top to bottom. Except for a statement of less than 400 words to the media, Sony Media Public Relations Department refused to make any comments other than the statement. Multinational companies: sympathy for Sony
The head of the strategic planning department of a well-known multinational company expressed sympathy for Sony. He told reporters that at present, many local battery factories in China manufacture counterfeit batteries, which makes digital camera manufacturers have a headache.
This multinational company also produces digital camera products. It is understood that although the company stated in the manual that the products are only suitable for this brand of batteries, consumers can buy alternative batteries.
Tang Wei of the public relations department of Panasonic (China) Co., Ltd. is cautious about this. He said that he didn't know much about Sony's lawsuit, but now he learned it from some public media, so it's not convenient to comment.
A person from the Shanghai branch of Nokia (China) Investment Co., Ltd., who asked not to be named, said that Nokia's image has recently been hit hard by the report that its mobile phone battery caught fire, and the company is determined to intensify efforts to crack down on counterfeit mobile phone batteries. In addition to the battery holographic label technology introduced in mid-February last year, it is planned to add intelligent identification technology to mobile phones in April and May this year, and only original batteries can be used. "This method is very similar to the battery technology of Sony digital camera."
Dealer: Sony is to promote products.
The waiter of Sony Store in Shanghai Xujiahui Pacific Digital City told the reporter, "Of course, Sony's digital cameras can only use Sony products. Other batteries cannot be used on Sony machines. "
Other non-Sony franchised dealers told reporters that other brands of batteries can be used. "You can win the goods. Pinsheng has high price, low price and reliable quality. Warranty for one year. Sony's battery is expensive and cost-effective. " The waiter of Shanghai Zhongzhong Cyberport introduced to the reporter.
"Sony's approach is to promote their photovoltaic cells," the salesperson of Yilian Digital Equipment Store in Pacific Digital City told reporters.
Not far away, a conspicuous "solemn statement" was posted in the Sony store, asking customers to buy batteries produced by Shanghai Suoguang Company and Sony Electronics (Wuxi) Co., Ltd.
A Sony digital product dealer told the reporter, "Why is the original lithium battery equipped with the machine not enough? In fact, the reason is very simple. If the random batteries provided by manufacturers can be used for a long time, then no one will buy the large-capacity batteries they produce. "
The person also said, "Now the overall transaction price of digital products is low, and even some dealers sell them at the purchase price or low price, and create profits by tying accessories and peripheral products. When we entered Sony products, we also had the procurement task of supporting batteries and other accessories. "
C experts say that profit-driven is the main reason.
Tampering with the battery is not surprising.
Chen Mingjun, deputy general manager of Zhongshan Like Electric Appliance Co., Ltd., who has been engaged in battery import and export trade for many years, believes that it is not new for Japanese companies to set authentication codes for batteries. Since the earliest media cameras and walkie-talkies, Japanese companies have adopted the practice of setting battery authentication codes to ensure the continued profitability of accessories.
He said that some models of Motorola's mobile phones will issue similar warnings of "illegal power supply at your own risk" when using non-original batteries.
He said that because Japan has invested a lot of money in the research and development of electronic and electrical products, it will never be satisfied with making profits just by selling the products themselves. Batteries are indispensable accessories for all electronic and electrical products, so it is not surprising that Japanese companies have made some achievements in this respect.
The original battery has a high profit. If the retail price of electronic and electrical products for replacing battery blocks is limited to 200 yuan, the dealer only gets more than 100, and the cost is lower, only about 50 yuan.
The spare parts market is highly profitable and cannot be saturated, so not only these original enterprises are "unwilling to flow out", but also some peripheral battery manufacturers are aiming at it.
Chen Mingjun said that if some battery companies can get enough stable orders, they will invest money to crack the battery technology that restricts replacement. "You have a picture, I have a wall ladder", but he said that he did not know the restriction technology used by Sony in digital cameras in detail, but it is estimated that it will be more difficult to crack.
"If batteries purchased by consumers from other channels can be used in Sony's cameras, Sony has no reason to object." Chen Mingjun believes that "of course, there is a problem of legal perfection."
Consumer: Different people have different opinions.
"I think as long as Sony explains related products. We consumers don't care about monopoly or monopoly, and we don't care about this. But if I don't explain it in advance, I will feel cheated by the merchants. " A programmer of a computer software company told reporters.
"As long as the products are of good quality and value for money, I don't think this is suspected of monopoly." Senior student Xiao Hu told reporters. "There is nothing wrong with Sony selling batteries as parts. Other companies might as well try to decode it themselves instead of spending time in court. "
However, some consumers have objections to Sony's approach. "Sony's products are particularly expensive and cannot be replaced by other companies' products, which is unfair to consumers. "A DC fan expressed dissatisfaction with Sony's bundled sales. (Ding Wei)
Source: China Business News (Editor: Zhang Li)