The United States Olympic Games Chinese LED enterprise "malicious knock off"

At the Beijing Olympics, LED shines. However, China's LED companies are once again subject to patent infringement complaints, facing the risk of being forced to withdraw from the U.S. market.

Beijing Olympic Games is a sports event, it can be said that the LED event. LED in the opening and closing ceremonies of the Beijing Olympic Games and Paralympic Games on a wide range of applications, the Olympic Games can not match the previous. When tens of thousands of pieces of LED to create the illusion of magnificent show in front of the world, Chinese LED influence is undoubtedly expose.

Although the Beijing Olympic Games to the LED industry has brought brilliant, but the development of the LED industry chain problems can not be ignored.

From "337 investigation"

In August 30th, China LED industry was in the Beijing Olympic Games to create brilliant victories, and 6 Chinese LED enterprises (i.e. semiconductor lighting enterprises) accused of patent infringement, which will face the United States International Trade Commission (U.S.ITC) "337 investigation".

Prior to this, there are 6 Chinese LED companies were indicted, and of which the company was included in the ITC "337 survey" list. This year, China has 12 LED companies encounter overseas intellectual property disputes (excluding China's Taiwan related enterprises).

In fact, the prosecution of Chinese companies in the United States, it is in February 20th this year, including 6 Chinese companies, including the world's 34 companies filed a patent lawsuit against the United States, Ms. Rothschild.

It is understood that the United States has 5 patents Rothschild, is a retired professor of Columbia University, ph.d.. The lawsuit is based on the 5252499th American patent it owns ("the patent of 499"). Allegedly, the "499 patent" is a semiconductor material and a manufacturing method of the invention, the invention relates to low resistivity bipolar wide band gap semiconductor and its manufacturing method (mainly for II-VI compound semiconductors), authorized in October 12, 1993.

According to relevant sources, in February of this year, the lawsuit, the plaintiff on the alleged infringement of the 6 Chinese LED companies to apply for a general exclusion order, of which 4 have been included in the ITC "survey" list. According to the "337 clause", which means that if the plaintiff, once issued a general exclusion order, non listed on enterprises will also be affected the same products will be out of the American market, which accused the country's entire LED lighting industry, including downstream products, can enter the United states. Fortunately, according to the Shenzhen Yuan Ming and Guangzhou Hongli opto electronic respondent Wang Jiabin lawyer said, after investigation of nearly 6 months later, the day before, the two companies have China success and the plaintiffs reached favorable conditions of global reconciliation. It is understood that the other two Chinese companies have also settled the problem through reconciliation.

Although the contents of the specific settlement, Wang Jiabin lawyer said inconvenient to disclose. But there are patent experts pointed out that the settlement reached a settlement of 337 generally have to pay a huge price, and even before the Chinese companies have been too costly, and reluctantly chose to withdraw from the U.S. market.

After a lapse of time, Ms. Rothschild once again sued for infringement of the other 6 Chinese LED companies, and the timing of its choice coincides with the successful hosting of the Beijing Olympic Games, LED shine after. This has prompted some industry insiders to question MS Rothschild's motives. They believe that people can not rule out the Olympic Games, "knock" Chinese LED companies a possible.

Low quality trouble end low-end price

We do not speculate on the plaintiff's intentions. But as the saying goes, flies do not bite the eggs. We must recognize the reality that China is a big producer of LED, but not a powerful country of technology and application.

Data show that China's LED industry output value of hundreds of billions. Some experts estimate that 5 years after its output value may be more than one trillion yuan. However, due to the level of China's LED technology is still a considerable gap with foreign countries, China's enterprises can only hover in the relatively low technical threshold of the low-end market. To this end, Chinese enterprises have also fallen into a vicious cycle of relying mainly on exports, product added value is not high, it is difficult to accumulate technology, domestic enterprises vicious competition.

According to relevant sources, "LED landscape lighting project uses the water cube", originally planned to use the relatively low price of Chinese products, but after experts have repeatedly careful study, agreed that the domestic LED products are not yet mature, in order to ensure the quality of the project, but the use of foreign LED products, but the design, installation, commissioning, test low value added by the relevant domestic enterprises to complete the work.

For China enterprises involved in LED litigation lawyer Wang Jiabin said: "this is not surprising, this is a part of the global LED industry rapid development, many international well-known big companies will not stay. "

In fact, since 2005, LED application products and manufacturers more and more, the rapid expansion of market size. At the same time, the patent relationship is becoming more and more complex. For example, TOYOTA, OSRAM, Nichia chemical synthesis, PHILPS alliance, the patent litigation spread to other enterprises and enterprises outside. With the rising number of patent cases, many well-known companies involved, some even become the plaintiff or the defendant's bench regulars, such as Intel, TI, Broadcom Corp, company Samsung Semiconductor company.

"In the face of competition, zigzag patent conflicts have become increasingly frequent in LED market, China enterprises still rely on low-cost, low technology, and even imitate the development mode of international market work. Once encountered a patent dispute, to parry it very well, not to mention the defenseless. "A LED industry