Ziru night's news, ziru
In march 2024, a patent tort dispute, which lasted eight months, came to an end with a civil decision issued by the intermediate people's court of the city of tian. This complex dispute, which involved cross-provincial law enforcement checks, cross-provincial evidence gathering and administrative decisions, ended up resolving the conflict through mediation. After the case had been settled, the parties had been disheartened, thanks to the people's committee for the reconciliation of intellectual property disputes in the mountain of taian city, which had worked with patience and great professionalism to reconcile the parties and maximize their benefits。
Markets are looted, abuse is not the word
In july 2023, company a reported to the local market supervisory authority that company c produced and sold machinery that violated its patent rights. The local market supervisory authority of company a was transferred to the thai mountain market supervisory authority in taian city for processing. The thai mountain market supervisory authority opened a case in accordance with the law due to the failure of the two programmes to reach a settlement。
It is understood that a piece of machinery produced by company a, which is used only in a single industry, is relatively small and is not produced by similar enterprises in the country, thus occupying a significant advantage in the industry market, at a single-stage price of millions of dollars, and applying for new types of patents for visual design and practical applications, which are currently valid. Company b had imported an item of equipment abroad, which had the same technical programme as the patent in question, but the equipment had been accidentally burned, and company b had therefore commissioned company c to rehabilitate the equipment, which had redesigned an item of equipment for targeted sale to company b by reference to the drawings and remnants of equipment provided by company b. When company a discovered the sales of company c, it found that company c had violated its patent rights。
After being admitted by the thai mountain market supervisory authority, company c submitted a notarized video evidence. The video, which shows the shape and operation of the foreign equipment used by company b, was published on a domestic website in 2019, earlier than the patent application, proving that the technology used in the alleged tort products produced by company c was an existing technology and therefore did not infringe on the patent rights of company a。
Conflict is escalating, professional mediation calms disputes
Owing to the high value of the equipment and the fact that there is little competition within the country, company a attaches great importance to the patent in question, reacts strongly to the production behaviour of company c, has a strong attitude in the processing of cases, has repeatedly expressed lack of communication and reconciliation, and has resorted to litigation to defend interests. Company c, on the other hand, considers that it was commissioned to produce the patent on the basis of drawings and prototypes, that it was not aware of the patent, that it had filed an existing technical defence, that it did not accept the claim of infringement, and that it had even filed an application for invalidity of the patent in question with the national intellectual property agency。
In view of the fact that the conflict between the two sides would be exacerbated to the point where it could not be eased, the people's committee for intellectual property disputes in the mountains of thailand had come forward in a timely manner. First, it is possible to break the attitude barriers of company a's refusal to mediate, to professionally explain what is available technology, to state the likelihood of a successful application being declared invalid and the damage it entails, and to reduce the resistance of company a to mediation. Secondly, the two sides must calm each other's aggressive impulses, analyse clearly the time costs that may be lost by both sides in the continuation of the dispute and the advantages that may be achieved by both sides after the mediation has been successful, listen patiently to the views of both sides, and try to find a balance between the parties ' claims, fully use the bonds and build bridges。
Eventually, after conciliation, company a waived its claim and company c waived its application for invalidity. Under the auspices of the people's committee for intellectual property disputes in the mountains of thailand, the parties signed a mediation agreement and applied to the court for judicial confirmation, which concluded the dispute。
Over 20 communications to mediate disputes
An intellectual property dispute is one of the civil disputes, in particular because the parties are often corporate rather than natural persons and the factors to be taken into account are more complex and involve higher amounts, which place greater demands on the professional qualities and working style of the conciliator。
In order to facilitate mediation in the field, mediators have been able to mediate, inter alia, by means of micro-credit, telephone, etc., and have communicated with both parties more than 20 times throughout the mediation process, including the fact that the parties have released negative sentiments to the staff member, but staff members have always insisted that mediation be conducted throughout the process, carefully explained, patiently guided and aimed at maximizing benefits and minimizing losses。
The contradictions involved in this case are very professional, and the mediator, after conducting the various aspects of on-site inspection, evidence gathering and defence testimony, consults the experts concerned to determine, on the basis of the basic clarity of responsibility for the violation, the outcome of the proceedings, the outcome of the invalid application, the circumstances that may eventually arise, the clarity of interests and the justification for conciliation. Staff mediation is not simply an old-fashioned, two-sided process, but rather a bottom line of conditions that can ultimately be accepted by both parties, based on the interests of both parties, which can only be achieved if they are targeted。
Since last year, in order to effectively mediate intellectual property disputes, the taian city of taian has established a sub-centre of the centre for the defence of intellectual property rights in china (cpip) in the mountains of taian city. It has set up a professional advisory committee to integrate the diverse governance forces of dispute mediators, experts from trade associations, notaries, etc., and has hired technical investigators to take advantage of professional bodies and powers, actively resolve 25 cases of patent infringement disputes, effectively defend the legitimate interests of the enterprises involved and optimize the rule of law business environment。
News trail: apply the market to download ziru point app, or search for ziru point, a micro-mail program. 800 journalists from all over the province are waiting for you to report
