Taking On Patent Infringment In China - Dan Harris
From China Law Blog:
Yesterday, I did a post, entitled, “Taking On China Patent Infringment At Home,” extolling the success of a U.S. company that sued a Chinese company in U.S. Federal Court for patent infringement. Today, I came across a good article from law.com [subscription required] on a U.S. company, 3M, that successfully sued a Chinese company in Chinese court for patent infringement. 3M has been in China since 1984, when it became the first U.S. corporation to set up a wholly owned subsidiary (WFOE) there.
3M learned that Shanghai-based Dasheng Health Products Manufacture Company, Ltd., was selling look-alike respirators in Australia that “violated at least two of 3M’s Chinese patents, one covering the design and a second on the structure of the mask.” Rather than pursue Dasheng directly, 3M went after the Australian mask importer, who agreed to cease importing the infringing product. 3M then decided to let the matter drop. But after more infringing masks, traced back to Dasheng and two other Chinese companies, started appearing in Europe, 3M decided it needed to go after the source.[Full Text]
