IP in China
February 1, 2010 by Jules
Reason to toot your horn
The recent case of Strix, a kettle manufacturer founded on the Isle of Man in 1951, proves that Intellectual Property is slowly gaining traction in Mainland China.
Strix provides thermostatic controls for two-thirds of the world’s kettles. It had accused two Chinese companies of copying its patented technology, which automatically switches off electric kettles after the water has reached boiling point.
The Beijing Intermediate People’s Court has ordered Zhejiang Jiatai Electrical Appliance Manufacturing and Leqing Fada Electrical Appliance to pay damages of Rmb7.1m ($1.04m) and Rmb2m respectively.
Paul Hussey, Strix chief executive, told the Financial Times that the outcome was “unprecedented” in China’s small appliances industry.
“We have increasing faith in China’s legal system,” said Mr Hussey, whose company’s manufacturing operations are based in Guangzhou, Guangdong’s provincial capital and the center of China’s small manufacturing industry. “Knowing that the courts will listen to [intellectual property cases] in an open and honest manner is a huge step forward. […] Our frustration with these companies had been growing for some time, […]. They were making inroads in a business they had no business being in.”
The award was accompanied by a cease-and-desist instruction to the two defendants. The court had also issued a “property preservation” order, freezing the “copyists” bank accounts when Strix first brought its case in late 2008.
How to:
Strix pursued legal action in Beijing. While its manufacturing operations are in Guangzhou and Zhejiang Jiatai’s in an eastern province near Shanghai, the Beijing Intermediate People’s Court provided a neutral setting with nationwide authority. In a bizarre twist the condition for the plaintiff to be allowed to sue in Beijing was proving that the kettles infringing its patent, which were being sold across the country, were also available in the capital.
In: Market News