How to avoid foreign-related patent infringement, and what should I do if foreign-related patent infringement occurs?
1. Accelerate scientific and technological innovation
China enterprises are restricted by overseas companies in intellectual property rights, mainly because there are too few independent intellectual property rights, especially in product development and product marketing. In order to make a breakthrough in these two links, the key lies in technological innovation and independent intellectual property rights. Conditional enterprises should set up an intellectual property department to manage the application for registration and protection of intellectual property rights of their own enterprises, and conduct international patent registration in time. It is best to adopt the patent network strategy (that is, apply for defensive patents around basic patents and apply for patents for minor improvements related to basic inventions) to prevent others from preempting and causing passivity and losses to themselves. A series of patents obtained through technological innovation will be transformed into industry standards and national standards, and actively participate in the activities of the international organization for standardization, and then into international standards, thus gaining a legal international industrial monopoly position (2).
2. Build an international brand
"It takes hard work to strike while the iron is hot". In order to win in the fierce market competition, enterprises must rely on scientific and technological progress, improve the scientific and technological content and added value of products, reduce production costs and improve product quality, and change "winning by quantity" into "winning by quality". Therefore, enterprises should strengthen the study and reference of international standards and quality certification system, master the forefront of the industry standards, strengthen cooperation with domestic and foreign enterprises, combine their own characteristics and market development, select appropriate and feasible technical standards, and produce products that are deeply loved by domestic and foreign consumers. In the process of brand building, enterprises should register trademarks internationally in time, register similar trademarks and logos, and prevent others from preempting or "being next to famous brands" from infringing their own interests.
3. Maintain independent intellectual property rights
Attack the shield with this spear.
As we all know, intellectual property rights have become a powerful competitive and legal weapon in market competition. Some foreign companies have advantages in intellectual property rights, but there are also cases of infringing on the intellectual property rights of others. Once the intellectual property rights independently researched and developed by China enterprises are infringed by others, they have enough resistance consciousness to crack down on those who trample on the law, and should not yield and forbear. For example, in case of infringement of registered trademarks in China, we should take the lead in relevant investigation and evidence collection and take the initiative to file a lawsuit. However, due to the low entry threshold, nonstandard industry, imperfect legal system and the need to strengthen law enforcement, enterprises can limit counterfeiting and infringement from two aspects in order to protect themselves: first, establish well-known brands, because when product competition rises to brand competition, it is difficult for other enterprises to shake the position of brand enterprise products in the market and customers' minds; The second is to improve the technical content and manufacturing level of products, because after improving the technological level and technical content of products, it is difficult for other enterprises to counterfeit or the cost of counterfeiting is high, which can greatly reduce the occurrence of counterfeiting and infringement.
What if there is foreign-related patent infringement?
1. Establish an early warning mechanism to nip in the bud.
First, in the product development period, carry out patent search. Know yourself and know yourself, and you will win every battle. In order to avoid litigation risks, enterprises should conduct patent search during the product development period, understand the patent situation of the industry and the developed products, avoid falling into a disadvantageous position of infringing others' patents during the research and development period, and also save product development time and cost.
Second, avoid design and infringement through patents. In the process of product development, if it is found that the developed products overlap with other people's patents, which may infringe on other people's intellectual property rights, we can improve our products by studying international trade rules, laws and regulations related to intellectual property rights at home and abroad, and other people's patent requests and specifications, so as to avoid infringement, which is commonly called "patent evasion design"
Third, establish an early warning mechanism to "plan ahead".
It is very necessary to establish an early warning mechanism and try to make a response plan in a short time. Generally speaking, multinational companies will generally conduct a lot of research activities in the early stage, test each other's reaction on radio and newspapers, and then take the form of negotiation, sending a lawyer's letter and finally litigation. There are two reasons for enterprises to face patent litigation: first, our development has affected the living space of competitors; Second, we have infringed on other people's intellectual property rights. This is a harbinger problem.
2. Seek reconciliation and win-win.
Reconciliation is also a way for enterprises to choose to solve problems. Usually, the court is just a means for enterprises to compete for the market and gain benefits. What the other party really wants may be to increase the weight of negotiations through litigation to obtain higher patent fees, or it may be to crowd out competitors through litigation. Therefore, before negotiating with the other party, enterprises should find out the real intention of the other party: if the other party's purpose is to compete for the market and limit the production scale of the other party through patents, enterprises can reach a settlement through patent cooperation, including technology cross-licensing and patent exchange; If the other party wants to spend money, it is necessary to seize the opportunity of negotiation and promote reconciliation. In this way, for the obligee, it not only protects the patent right, but also collects considerable patent fees, achieving a win-win effect. For users, paying patent fees not only eliminates the notoriety of "infringement", but also restores the reputation of the enterprise, and can continue to use the patent of the right holder to obtain their own interests. But there are conditions for reaching a settlement. First, appropriate concessions or preferential conditions, such as production process adjustment, preferential cooperation conditions, payment of patent royalties, etc. ; The second is the success rate of the plaintiff in the case; Third, whether the defendant has the weight of reconciliation (such as the patent as a cross-license, proof that the plaintiff's patent is invalid, etc.). ).
How to avoid and deal with foreign-related patent infringement? In the face of foreign-related patent losses, the patentee can protect his rights through litigation in light of specific circumstances. On how to avoid foreign-related patent infringement or foreign-related patent infringement, I suggest you consult a lawyer directly online.