In a decision dated July 17, 2020, China’s Supreme People’s Court ruled for Under Armour, Inc. against Fujian Tingfeilong Sporting Goods Co., Ltd. (福建省廷飞龙体育用品有限公司) for trademark infringement and unfair competition. Under Armour was founded in 1996 and as of 2018 had almost $5 billion USD in annual revenue selling sportswear, such as clothing and running shoes. In contrast, Tingfeilong launched the brand “Uncle Martian” in 2016 in China also in the sportswear field. As can be seen below, the Uncle …
80 Million RMB Awarded in China Melamine Patent Litigation
Shandong Hualu Hengsheng Chemical Co., Ltd. announced in a filing with the Shanghai Stock Exchange that they recently lost a patent infringement lawsuit and the Guangdong Higher People’s Court awarded 80 million RMB (~$11.4 million USD) to the plaintiff Sichuan Jinxiang Serui Chemical Co., Ltd. An injunction was also awarded. The patents at suit, ZL201110108644.9 and ZL201010216437.0, cover methods of manufacturing melamine and equipment in the use of manufacturing melamine. China is the world’s largest manufacturer of melamine, which is …
Jiangsu Punishes Chinese Patent Agency for Patent Subject Matter Conflict
In a decision dated July 9, 2020, the Intellectual Property Office of Jiangsu Province, China, punished a patent agency, Zhishi Law Firm ( 南京知识律师事务所), for a patent subject matter conflict with a public warning. A subject matter conflict can be defined as the simultaneous representation of clients competing for patents in the same technology area for the same or similar inventions.
Tips For Accelerating Patent Prosecution In China
In light of recently released Chinese patent statistics showing at least eight to 10 months to first office action and an average of 22.7 months to final disposition from the date of filing,[1] applicants may wish to accelerate examination of their patent applications. However, unlike the multitudes of routes for accelerating patent prosecution in the United States, China has two main programs to accelerate patent prosecution: the Patent Prosecution Highway[2] and prioritized examination.[3] Both programs are free to participate in …