The importance of intellectual property protection in the fields of energy conservation and environmental protection technologies
Intellectual property rights have a guarantee function for independent innovative technologies in the fields of energy conservation and environmental protection. Once an independent innovation technology in the field of energy conservation and environmental protection is made public, it will be difficult for the owner to effectively control it, which means that externalities and "free-rider" problems will inevitably arise. The so-called externalities of technological innovation refer to the free benefits of the technology to society and others. The so-called "free riding" refers to the behavior of obtaining benefits from others or society without paying any cost.
If intellectual property protection is implemented for independent innovative technologies in the fields of energy conservation and environmental protection, the situation will be very different: from the user's perspective, users must pay corresponding costs when using innovative technologies, while inventions and creations The person is entitled to a certain amount of remuneration. If others use it for free, it is an infringement and they should be held legally responsible. From the aspect of the inventor, he must first disclose the contents and solutions of his technology, and be subject to certain reasonable restrictions on the term and scope of the rights. In this way, it not only guarantees the application and dissemination of innovative technologies, but also protects the interests of creators, mobilizes their enthusiasm for technological innovation, and creates more knowledge products for use in the fields of energy conservation and environmental protection in society, ultimately achieving energy conservation,
A virtuous cycle of R&D, dissemination and application of independent innovative technologies in the field of environmental protection.
Technological innovation and intellectual property protection in the fields of energy conservation and environmental protection are two topics that complement each other. While promoting technological innovation, we must maintain the rules of the market operation from the perspective of intellectual property protection and create good conditions for technological innovation. social atmosphere.
On the other hand, with the rise of the knowledge economy and the deepening of economic globalization, expanding opening up and absorbing foreign investment have become inevitable choices for accelerating technological progress and economic development in economically underdeveloped regions. As a region where the development of energy-saving and environmental protection technologies is relatively lagging behind, my country has been working hard to create a good investment environment in recent years and has made great progress in attracting foreign investment.
However, in recent years, the outstanding problem in introducing foreign investment and developing energy-saving and environmentally friendly technologies is that foreign investors often adopt comprehensive intellectual property strategies, that is, using trademarks, patents, copyrights and trade secrets to comprehensively integrate The company has been trying to expand the intellectual property protection of its energy-saving and environmentally friendly technology products domestically, and erect "barriers" to its energy-saving and environmentally friendly technologies. For example, while increasing investment in local energy-saving and environmental protection facilities, they can obtain intellectual property rights through a large number of patent applications, take advantage of the low level of local technology, and seize a favorable position before regional companies have the ability to compete with them. Establish or maintain a monopoly position in the relevant field. In the high-tech fields of energy conservation and environmental protection, the number of patent applications filed by foreign-funded companies is also much higher than that of domestic counterparts. In the early stage of introducing core technology, they did not add patent fees to the core technology. Instead, they waited until the company had established this industry before they started to pursue patent royalties and earn profits from the core technology level. For products and services with relatively low technical thresholds in the fields of energy conservation and environmental protection technology, as well as standardized production and labor-intensive products, they rely less on patent protection, and they use trademark protection.
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Case: The weak awareness of intellectual property rights of Chinese battery manufacturers is still a "weakness"
In May 2003, Energizer Holdings and its battery production subsidiary Eveready filed a lawsuit with American International The International Trade Commission (ITC) filed a lawsuit against 24 domestic and foreign battery companies in the United States, including 7 Chinese companies. The reason was that their mercury-free alkaline manganese battery patents were infringed, and the ITC was asked to investigate and ban these companies from producing. Mercury-free alkaline manganese batteries enter the US market. The seven Chinese companies are: Fujian Nanping Nanfu Battery Co., Ltd., Guangdong Zhenglong Co., Ltd., Sichuan Changhong Electric Co., Ltd., Guangzhou Hutou Battery Group Company, Ningbo Leopard King Battery Co., Ltd., Zhejiang Sante Battery Co., Ltd., Bank of China Ningbo BATTERY LIMITED.
In June 2004, the ITC initially ruled that China lost the case.
China persisted in its appeal, and the ITC Adjudication Committee composed of new members finally ruled that China had not infringed the patent and denied the validity of the plaintiff's patent rights. However, such a result is rare for Chinese companies to encounter "Section 337" in recent years. Regarding being accused of patent infringement, the person in charge of external legal affairs of Nanfu said that he was not mentally prepared at all. As a battery manufacturer that ranks among the top in domestic sales and already has brand recognition, Nanfu is often harmed by counterfeit products. For this reason, they applied for trademark protection in China, North America, and Europe a few years ago, but they never thought of applying for a patent—they never considered mercury-free alkaline manganese battery production to be an original technology.
Although seven Chinese battery companies turned defeat into victory in the patent infringement case, it also revealed that "weak concept of intellectual property rights" is still a weakness for Chinese companies to further develop into the international market. In fact, BYD and Sanyo, Sony, Huawei and Cisco, Shenzhen Dongjin and Intel, Shenzhen Actions and American sigmate, etc., almost all foreign-related intellectual property disputes have the same thing: on the one hand, Chinese companies In the past, not only did they rarely apply for their own patents abroad, but they also rarely applied for domestic patents. Once they encountered litigation, there was basically no room for bargaining; on the other hand, many Chinese companies have not yet realized that intellectual property rights are important for expanding market share, An important means of increasing income. Chinese companies have no income from patent fees, and competition mainly depends on price.
When faced with the threat of being accused of patent infringement, there are only three options: either pay high licensing fees, file a lawsuit, or voluntarily withdraw from the market. Both can put companies in a vulnerable or life-or-death situation.