Faced with this hidden crisis in international trade, lawyer Sun Fanglong, who has many years of experience in representing anti-dumping cases, believes that Chinese companies should adhere to the idea of ??"not only solving immediate needs, but also looking at long-term strategies" in Try the following aspects.
First of all, Chinese companies must conduct relevant intellectual property investigations before exporting products to the United States. If possible infringement is found, the product should be modified promptly, or the infringement should be avoided by replacing non-patented methods. It is reported that the protection of patents in the United States is very detailed, and colors, sounds and even smells can be used as objects of protection. In addition, you can also sign an agreement with a U.S. importer, whereby the importer will bear responsibility for infringements, thereby passing on possible risks.
Once sued, Chinese companies must not only consider the cost of responding, but also the actual losses and potential losses caused by not responding. Regarding the "Section 337 Investigation" case, not filing a lawsuit will be the most damaging approach and may result in the loss of a huge potential market. When responding to a lawsuit, Chinese companies can argue that their products do not infringe the other party's patent rights. This is because the specific scope of patent protection in the United States is recorded in the claims, which can contain one or more technical elements. Infringement can only be determined when all the technical elements in the claim involve related imported products, otherwise it does not constitute infringement. In addition, whether a patent right in the "337 investigation" is really valid will be ultimately determined by the ITC. Therefore, Chinese companies can also sue their opponents that the patent right is invalid or unenforceable.
Compared with mature foreign companies, Chinese companies are not very familiar with the current "rules of the game" in international trade, so they have been in a passive position in the United States' "337 investigation", even if they are finally able to Reconciliation is also costly because we have no leverage. Therefore, relevant experts reminded that Chinese enterprises should increase their awareness of intellectual property rights, patent rights and trademark rights, and especially pay attention to the regional nature of intellectual property protection. In other words, if the export volume of the product is large, it is best to apply for intellectual property protection in the other party's market. In this way, if we encounter a lawsuit involving intellectual property rights, we will also have bargaining chips with the opponent to "cross-license" the intellectual property rights. , the threshold for reconciliation can be lower.
“You can’t just surrender anyway,” lawyer Sun Fanglong said. When Chinese companies first began to face anti-dumping investigations by the United States and the European Union, they also experienced a transition from panic and non-respondence to actively responding to the lawsuit and repeatedly A process of achievement. Nowadays, in the face of the menacing "337 investigation", Chinese companies should no longer act as a "slow response force". It is difficult to win the market while losing the market.