Technology Daily News Ever once, more than 75% of the market share is occupied by two multinational corporations. Until 2014, the market size of homemade LED packaging silicone surpassed imported products for the first time.
Although it is already a big manufacturing country, the Chinese market is still dominated by multinational corporations in a large number of highly sophisticated products. If Chinese enterprises want to innovate and develop in these areas to realize their rise, they will surely touch the original pattern of interests and will certainly face the challenge.
Founded in Beijing Zhongguancun, now is LED packaging silicone industry well-known companies Commerte, on the experience and face a multinational company initiated patent litigation. Comit GM Ge Shi Li recently accepted an interview with reporters about the experience and share the inspiration.
Innovation boosts
At the beginning of its establishment in 2005, Comte, which established the strategic positioning of "localization of leading polymer materials", started the LED encapsulated silicone research and development in 2008 when it chose the high-end and high-refraction silica gel which was completely imported at that time.
"The reason to be able to high-end market as a starting point, mainly from a silicone, epoxy resin and other polymer materials with rich experience in R & D team." Comtes general manager Ge Shili told reporters in an interview that the R & D team Mainly from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the company has been focused on research and development since its inception, more than 30% of the company's staff specializing in research and development.
LED encapsulated silicone is a key application of LED devices, the overall performance of the device plays a decisive role. Due to the high technical threshold, by 2010, more than 75% of LED high-end and high-refraction packaging silicone industry will be occupied by Dow Corning and Shin-Etsu multinationals.
Based on the strong innovation capability and excellent performance indicators, Comte's products soon opened the market in the market that was originally monopolized by multinational corporations. Listed domestic listed companies in the domestic market gradually became Comte customers. A group of internationally renowned enterprises also proactively contacted Comte and its Reached a cooperation intention.
After being gradually accepted by the market, Commeut products market grew rapidly, and the performance of the company doubled every year. With the huge price advantage and the consistent performance with imported products, the market share of imported products has been continuously lost. Relevant data show that in 2014 the domestic LED packaging silicone market for the first time exceeded the scale of imported products.
A patent war pertains to the attribution of innovation
"Hukouduogu" naturally will not be smooth sailing, at the same time Kangmite rise, a storm is gradually approaching. In April 2014, Dow Corning sued Comtek in court alleging that its patents included Commericom's market-selling phenyl-containing high-refractive silica. A patent war on the ownership of innovation and research results officially kicked off.
Despite the fact that a few months have passed, it is with emotion that Ge Shili's speech is still full when it comes to responding to this experience. Ge Shili frankly, he gradually vied with a war when the product gradually took over the market. However, when the challenge came, he was still taken aback. He did not communicate with the rival companies in advance and did not have a letter from the lawyer. He directly sent the court complaint.
"After many years of accumulation, MNCs are well versed in patent drafting and declare the core technology patents while building a very wide range of patent protection circles around core patents." Wang Hua, the deputy general manager handling the patent litigation, told reporters that the small Venture company accidentally it is easy to step in which "mines", deep patent lawsuit unable to extricate themselves.
Although Initially developed, the Commissariat Legal Officers searched all domestic and foreign patents relating to the established technology. But when the challenge really came down, Ge Shih was still nervous, and he had the lawyers co-patent lawyers search all the patents again until they said, "OK, no problem, we have no infringement!" Ge Shili just really relieved.
Sure enough, after eight months of investigation and hearing, on May 18, 2015, the Patent Reexamination Board of the State Intellectual Property Office formally issued a document announcing that all patent rights of Dow Corning Corporation's patents involved were null and void. In the end, a national brand confronted the patent dispute of a multinational corporation and eventually Commert wins the curtain call.
Patent, commercial competition in the "double-edged sword"
Despite the fact that Comtec succeeded in reversing the passive situation, it not only did not allow multinationals to take advantage of it, but also took the opportunity to give competitors a "heavy hammer." Thus, Commeut has also significantly increased its reputation in the industry. However, it seems to the insiders that this experience has also sounded the alarm for China's innovation-oriented enterprises.
In an interview with reporters, some intellectual property lawyers said that Chinese innovative enterprises want to compete with these international giants that have accumulated for decades or even centuries. It is far from enough for them to do a good job and learn how to protect themselves .
Patent disputes in the LED industry is nothing new, from chip to package to materials, "patent war" has been accompanied by the development of the entire industry. Compared with international giants, there is still a huge gap between domestic enterprises in terms of awareness, experience, financial strength and staffing. "Patent games" have always been dominated by international giants.
"This course is not a bad thing for Chinese companies that started out in the international marketplace, and it made them realize that there was a bias in the past about the perception that patent applications would reveal core technical secrets." Ge Shili said frankly that they also thought the application Patents easily lead to the disclosure of technical secrets, so the core technology is usually protected by secrecy.
Wang Hua told the reporter that Comtite has now adjusted its IPR protection strategy in a timely manner and protected it from "technology secrets" in the past to apply for patents as much as possible to build a "patent pool" and change from passive to active. In addition to one of the granted invention patents, Comte has completed 6 invention patent applications.
Ge Shili pointed out that sometimes the "patent" has become a "double-edged sword" in commercial competition. It is no longer an innovation "umbrella" but a "stumbling block" to innovation. He appealed to the patent examination departments to strictly examine and try to eliminate some Large enterprises "planted a tree, wrapped the entire piece of forest" such a monopoly of patents.