Do employees of the company have to bear tort liability for selling patent infringing products?
When employees of Fujian Quanzhou Patent Law Firm sell patent infringing products, the patentee obtains the employee's business card supervised by the company and the delivery note stamped with the company's official seal, notarizes the purchase of the patent infringing products at the company's point of sale, and keeps the patent infringing products in the company's factory building. It can be concluded that the company has infringed the patent rights of others, and the company should bear the tort liability. A company in Xiamen thinks that a company in Quanzhou has infringed on its patent right of design, so it entrusts a notary to buy a shower in a company in Quanzhou, and obtains the employee's business card printed with "A company in Quanzhou (producer), Yu Mou" and the delivery note stamped with the official seal of a company in Quanzhou. The notary office took photos of the shower room and sealed it. Later, a company in Xiamen filed a lawsuit on the grounds that a company in Quanzhou infringed its design patent right. The court held that after comparison, the appearance of the shower sold by a company in Quanzhou was the same as the design patent involved. Moreover, a company in Quanzhou stamped the official seal on the delivery note, and the court also kept the semi-finished products of the alleged infringing products in its factory. The fact that a company in Quanzhou produces and sells the alleged infringing products is clear and the evidence is really sufficient. It can be concluded that a company in Quanzhou has infringed the design patent right of a company in Xiamen. The court ruled that a company in Quanzhou stopped producing and selling showers that infringed the design patent of a company in Xiamen. A company in Quanzhou refused to accept the judgment and appealed on the grounds that the real seller of the products involved was Lu. The court of second instance held that a company in Quanzhou argued that the objects notarized and preserved by court evidence were all made by Lu and had nothing to do with a company in Quanzhou. However, a company in Quanzhou did not give a reasonable explanation for stamping the delivery note with the seal of a company in Quanzhou. Combined with the employee's business card printed with "A company in Quanzhou (producer) and Yu Mou" obtained during notarization and preservation, and the fact that Lu Mou is a director and deputy general manager of a company in Quanzhou, it is enough to determine that the alleged infringing products are produced and sold by a company in Quanzhou. The court of second instance ruled that the appeal was dismissed and the original judgment was upheld. Key reading: If employees of the company sell patent infringing products, the patentee obtains the employee's business card supervised by the company and the delivery note stamped with the company's official seal through proper channels, notarizes the patent infringing products at the company's point of sale, and keeps the patent infringing products in the company's factory building, then the fact that the company produces and sells the alleged infringing products is clear and the evidence is really sufficient. It can be concluded that the company has infringed the patent right of others, and the company shall bear the tort liability.