ChenHongbing,DirectoroftheWIPOOfficeinChina
Thebattlesamongtechgiantsarelegendary.
ButwhereinthepastAppleandSamsungusedtotradeblowsoverpatents,there’sanewmajorplayerinthering.Inashiftofroles,China’sHuaweiTechnologieshasnowjoinedin.
HuaweifiledalawsuitagainstSamsung’ssubsidiariesinChina,claimingthatmorethan20modelsofSamsungsmartphonesandtabletproducts,includingtheflagshipGalaxyS7andtheGalaxyS7Edge,haveinfringeditspatents.
ThisApril,theQuanzhouIntermediatePeople’sCourtinsoutheastChina’sFujianProvinceruledSamsungElectronicspay80millionyuan($11.6million)toHuaweiforpatentinfringements.
ThecourtrulingmarksthegiantChinesesmartphonemaker’sfirstvictoryinsafeguardingitsintellectualpropertyrights(IPRs)inthelocalmarket.
HuaweiisoneofthetopChinesebrandswithalargenumberofpatents.Accordingtostatistics,bytheendof2016,thecompanyhadownedmorethan55,000patentsworldwide,90percentofwhichareinventionpatents.
Huawei’svictoryoverSamsunghighlightstheimportanceofinnovationandpatents.It’sjustoneofthemanysuccessfulcasesofChinesecompaniesprotectingtheirIPRs.InsidersbelievethatIPRsnowplayanimportantroleinprotectingcreativityanddrivinginnovation.
Focusingoninnovation
Inthepast,manyChinesecompanieshadlittleawarenessofIPRprotectionandsufferedgreatlossesforinfringingIPRsofforeignenterprises.ButChinesecompaniesarenowlookingtoinnovateforaconsumerbasethatisincreasinglydemanding,saysShaunReininhisbookTheEndofCopycatChina:TheRiseofCreativity,InnovationandIndividualisminAsia.
“Chinesecompaniesarenolongercopycats,butareinsteadinnovatingandaddingvalue,”saidRein,whoisthefounderandmanagingdirectoroftheChinaMarketResearchGroup,theworld’sleadingstrategicmarketintelligencefirmheadquarteredinShanghai,China.
ThisriseininnovationsawChinarecordextraordinarygrowthofinternationalpatentapplicationsin2016,increasing44.7percentyearonyear,accordingtoareportreleasedbytheWorldIntellectualPropertyOrganization(WIPO)onMarch15,2017.
Atotalof43,168applicationswerefiledinChinathroughPatentCooperationTreaty(PCT)in2016,puttingthecountryinthirdplaceaftertheUnitedStatesandJapan,theWIPOsaid.Since2002,Chinahasregistereddouble-digitgrowtheachyearandwillbecomethelargestuserofthePCTsystemwithintwoyearsifthistrendcontinues.
China’stelecomsgiantsZTECorp.,filing4,123PCTapplications,andHuawei,with3,692,occupiedthetoptwospotsinthelistofPCTapplicants,accordingtothereport.
“ThenumberofPCTapplicationsisanimportantindicatortoreflectindustrialinnovationcapabilityandalsoamajorindextoevaluateinternationalcompetitivenessofenterprises,”saidLiShunde,DeanoftheDepartmentofLawandIntellectualPropertyattheUniversityofChineseAcademyofSciences.
“ThenumbersspeakoftheimportanceChinaattachestoIPRprotectionandtheinnovationcapacitiesofChinesecompanies,”Liadded.
Li’sviewwasechoedbyChenHongbing,DirectoroftheWIPOOfficeinChina.Hesaidthecountryhasjoinedtheranksoftheworld’s25mostinnovativeeconomies,accordingtotheGlobalInnovationIndex2016,jointlyreleasedbytheU.S.CornellUniversity,EuropeanInstituteofBusinessAdministrationandtheWIPOlastyear.
StatisticsfromtheMinistryofScienceandTechnologyshowthatChina’sinvestmentinresearchanddevelopmentreachednearly2.1percentoftheGDPin2016,totaling1.544trillionyuan($224billion).Thefigureputsthecountryinsecondplaceworldwide,nextonlytotheUnitedStates.
“Onaninternationallevel,theChina-basedfilersarebehindmuchofthegrowthininternationalpatentandtrademarkfilings,”saidWIPODirectorGeneralFrancisGurry.Hebelievesthiswillhaveabigimpactonbusinessesinternationalizingasthecountrycontinuesitsjourneyfrom“madeinChina”to“createdinChina.”
TheopticalmasersproducedbyShandongHuaguangOptoelectronicsCo.Ltd.withitsownIPR