The defendant in Zhongshan's 16 lighting factory was suspected of being "fishing for evidence"

"You have 6 types of products suspected of infringement of design patents. Please appear on time to the intermediate people's Court of Zhongshan on November 7th." For more than 10 years in the lighting industry of ancient town, Zhang Lianghong recently received a summons from the court for suspected design patent infringement. It was different from the appearance of 1 products in two years ago. This time, there were 6 products. Zhang Lianghong said the receipt of the court was not one of their lighting companies, which had 16. "Talking about the infringement of the design patent, we have been fighting for more than 10 years in the lighting industry. It is difficult to solve the same circular general design, and the circulation of the product in the market is very common, but the defendant is infringed."

Be sentenced to infringement but apply for a patent

In July 2012, Zhang Lianghong first received a subpoena from the court for suspected design patent infringement. The plaintiff sun min Feng told her that she had a lighting design infringement. In the end, the court decided that Zhang Chang Hong was defeated and indemnity 60 thousand yuan. "After losing the lawsuit, the more I want to be less willing, how can it be due to the design infringement for the appearance of a general design that has been sold for a long time in the market? I took the loss of the product to apply for the appearance of the patent, I did not expect to apply for success, the cost of applying for a patent is only a few hundred yuan, and the cost of losing the claim is 60 thousand yuan. " Zhang Lianghong said that the product that the appearance design infringes the lawsuit can still apply for the success of the patent, which makes the industry more puzzling, how is the standard of the appearance design patent of the lighting industry made?

"At that time the failure of the lawsuit lost the lawsuit, after all, only one product, we should buy a lesson for yourself." Zhang Lianghong said that in the future, all the products designed by the company would apply for a patent, and there was no thought of a summons from the court again, and 6 products were suspected of infringement, the plaintiff or the former Sun Minfeng, this time not only one of their lighting enterprises was accused, but also the other 15 other defendants, Zhang Lianghong. Tell the reporter, "we went to the court to inquire, this is only the first batch of defendant enterprises, there are second batches of defendants, total more than 60 enterprises because of the appearance of tort defendants, the plaintiff is all Sun Minfeng."

Enterprises specialize in patent claims

"He was a hole in the law and a malicious claim," Liu Daozan, the owner of a lighting company in the list of defendants, told reporters that the 16 defendants' enterprises had inquired about the style of the suspected appearance of infringement. Among them, 6 enterprises were accused of the same shape, the most one of them. The home enterprise has 8 kinds of product defendant's appearance design infringement.

Liu Daozan gave everyone an account, a form of patent claims 60 thousand yuan, Sun Minfeng because of a patent in this list of 6, if the winner will mean that he will get about 360 thousand yuan of compensation, and how much he applied for patent costs, hundreds of yuan, where to do this business? More importantly, he applied for the so-called design patents, which have been in circulation for a long time on the market. In order to make money, he specializes in the hole in the law. Liu Daozan then showed reporters the date of their products on the company's website, as well as product orders, and the date was earlier than sun min peak applied for a patent.

"Sun min peak is now special through the application of patent claims and lighting enterprise claims to eat, these years do not know how many lighting factories." Liu Daozan frankly, affected by the environment, the lighting industry is really difficult to do now, this year, if the malicious claim can survive, the lighting merchants do not do industry, all to take the path of malicious claims.

"Fishing evidence" was hated by his colleagues

How did the plaintiff take evidence? He specializes in foreigners, disguised as foreign companies to purchase samples, thus obtaining evidence of the company's bank account and transaction. "My sale price of a display lamp is more than 20 yuan, the foreigner hired by sun min Feng, which is installed as a foreign businessman, will first purchase a sample lamp and send it back to see it, because it is the company purchase, all the money is through the bank, and Sun Minfeng obtains the evidence of the bank account, the invoice and other transactions." Zhang Lianghong complained, who knew the company did not wait for foreign orders, but received a summons from the court. Zhang Lianghong told reporters that the price of twenty yuan of lighting products, pure profit of 2 yuan is very happy, originally thought to have foreign buyers, who know is fishing evidence, now this product is to claim 60 thousand yuan, we have to produce how many lamps to compensate the amount.

"6 products with a total of 360 thousand yuan, we as small and medium-sized enterprises, a year of hard work to raise more than 30 workers, how many years to get back to 360 thousand yuan." Zhang Lianghong spit bitterness.

So are the products of these defendants really infringed? Is the plaintiff really taking evidence? The reporter called Sun Minfeng many times. After the phone was connected, it immediately showed the phone's busy voice prompting and couldn't get a direct conversation.

Have got millions of compensation

"I know Sun Minfeng, well known in the lighting industry and the judicial system." Chiang Kai Shek, who was in charge of the Executive Bureau of the Municipal Central Academy, told reporters that in recent years, a team headed by Sun Minfeng had millions of dollars in the claim for infringement of the design patent.

Judge Jiang analysis, from the legal point of view, the 16 cases of suspected patent infringement of the lawsuit, sun min Feng's chance to win is larger, first whether or not Sun Minfeng's own design of the appearance of patent, he first applied for the patent success, the court will accept the evidence. But in the sense of the reason, sun min Feng's means of obtaining evidence, and the way to make money through the legal platform, are really hated by the industry.

Judge Chiang revealed that he now tells a patent that the direct price of a suspected infringement is 36 thousand yuan, and that the compensation of the court is about 60 thousand yuan. After the first failure of the defendant, he will be able to receive a direct charge of 36 thousand yuan for the defendant, using the time and the defendant's money to save the money.

90% dispute involving appearance patent

Zhou Jintian, director of the Zhongshan (lighting) intellectual property rights rapid Rights Center, told reporters that there are more than 4600 patents in the lighting industry of the ancient town, of which more than 4200 of them are design patents. Of the more than 300 disputes dealt with last year by the Zhongshan (lamp) intellectual property rights center, 90% are due to the appearance of patent disputes.

"16 lighting enterprises have been infringed by an enterprise on suspicion of appearance patents. This is not a strange thing at the rights center. At a time, we have reached a maximum of 60 enterprises because of the design infringement." Zhou Jintian told reporters that, for the lighting market, some of the more common graphics must not be used as a key to the success of the patent. A lighting design patent can be applied successfully because of a certain component, and the design elements and features are different from other products.

Zhou Jintian analysis, if a lighting is the first design of an enterprise, and promoted in the market, because of the lack of awareness of the application for patent, but the other enterprises to apply for a patent first, the enterprise want to prove that it is the first design, only from the time of the product order to prove that the evidence is still compared. Weak, if you want to better protect yourself, you need an enterprise to have a public proof, such as a show at a well-known exhibition, or a successful Award for industry accreditation, and the publication of the work in the official and industry media, which is more conducive to the court to take evidence and trust.

First applicants are more credible

If there is a patent for each of the two types of products, and because of the dissension because of the similar, then the first successful application of the patent enterprise, more utterance, will also be more access to the court. Zhou Jintian introduced, this is mainly because the appearance design patent is decided by the characteristic of the form review.

Since there are similar designs, why can they apply for a patent? Zhou Jintian said that the appearance design patent has the characteristics of time, region and so on. When the patent center identifies the product, there are very much information in both ancient and modern times. If the examination of all the data will bring great difficulties to everyone's work, and it is not possible, it can not be examined in form but not practical. Examination. If you want to change this situation, it will require a country's policy adjustment. Zhou Jintian believes that, in fact, it is not a bad thing to allow similar products to have multiple patents, and can inject more vitality into the development of the lighting industry.

Su Yushan, deputy secretary of the Party committee of Guzhen Town, told reporters in an interview recently that some enterprises have received some information from the ancient town government through legal means of malicious claims. First, we will respect intellectual property rights. However, the government of ancient towns will pay special attention to the malicious claims for the development of the lighting industry in ancient towns. Su Yushan introduced, now the ancient town has set up a special building, which is about to be used before the ancient town lamp Expo this year, focusing on the legal disputes of the quality, appearance and sales of the lighting products. Those companies and individuals who have malicious claims will be cleared out of the ancient town lighting market.

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