This "big stick" that will wave at any time, Intel, Samsung, and Apple have all been calculated!

Author:Look at the think tank Time:2022.07.07

In corporate competition, intellectual property rights are "weapons", and one of the important parts is patent (abbreviation of patent rights).

More than 20 years ago, when Chinese companies went out, they were hunting by foreign patents. Some Chinese companies often lose their right to defend their rights due to their lack of understanding of intellectual property rights and encounter related lawsuits of local enterprises, causing huge losses.

In recent years, as the scale of "going global" of enterprises has continued to increase, the issues related to intellectual property rights have become more and more concerned.

In June 2022, data released by the Intellectual Property Development Research Center of the State Intellectual Property Office showed that the current 5G standards of 5G standards must have a total of more than 210,000 patents, involving 47,000 patents, of which 18,000 patent cities have declared in China, accounting for accounting for 18,000 patents, accounting for accounting It is close to 40%, ranking first in the world.

Text | Wang Yiwen Watch Think Tank Observer

This article is an original article on the lookout think tank. If you need to reprint, please indicate the source of the Source of the Source of the Think Tank (ZHCZYJ) and the author's information, otherwise it will strictly investigate the legal responsibility.

The "weapon" of business competition

The intellectual property system originated in Europe, and the term Intellectual Property was founded by French scholar Capzov. Later, the Belgian jurist Pika proposed the theory of intellectual property for the first time and defined it as "all rights from intellectual activities." After the signing of the World Intellectual Property Organization Convention in 1967, the "intellectual property" was gradually used in the international community.

According to the definition, intellectual property rights refer to the exclusive rights that natural persons, legal persons, or other organizations have enjoyed their intellectual creative results in accordance with the law. Secrets, geographical signs, etc.; The other is copyright (also known as "copyright"), involving literature, art and scientific works, such as novels, poetry, drama, film, music, songs, art, photography, sculpture, and architectural design.

In its protection methods, it is difficult to play a role in the protection of open and transparent international standards. The industrial property rights such as patents and trademarks can better protect the interests of technology research and development. On the one hand, the right holder can obtain benefits through the patent license fee; on the other hand, it can also fight against competitors by prohibiting the use and sales.

Note: Technical secrets refer to the benefits of the right holder, the right holders have adopted strict confidentiality measures, and the technical information that is not known to the public, including design, procedures, formulas, craftsmanship, methods, tricks and other forms of technical technologies Information is a business secret.

Google Map on iPhone mobile phone. Figure ｜ IC Photo

In the competition of technology companies, intellectual property rights are a very good "weapon". Enterprises can be ally or opponents. The complex relationship between Apple, Microsoft, and Google is a good example.

When the PC was in the way, Microsoft and Apple companies accused each other of plagiarism of their high -tech products, and Google, which was famed by search and browser, was destined to challenge the industry boss Microsoft. At the beginning, Google's relationship with Apple was very friendly. The first generation of iPhone was installed by the Google Map by default. However, in 2007, Google released the mobile operating system Android, and the two companies opened a long and fierce war.

In 2009, the Canadian Telecom Corporation Nortel Networks bankruptcy, and auctioned the company's largest assets after two years: including patent portfolio of more than 6,000 projects, including 4G wireless technology and a series of new technologies. Microsoft, Apple, BlackBerry, Ericsson, and Sony joined for $ 4.5 billion in sky -high prices, and set up a company called Rockstar Bidco (later changed to Rockstar Consortium) to operate these patents. Google also participated in the bidding, but failed to succeed. Soon after, Rockstar Consortium submitted eight patent infringement prosecutions against Google to the court, and related Android device manufacturers were also among the defendants.

After that, Google also issued a lawsuit to counterattack the patented fishing alliance headed by Apple. In 2012, Google acquired Motorola for Motorola for $ 12.5 billion. One of its purpose was to obtain thousands of patents of Motorola to help Android operating systems respond to intellectual property rights initiated by Apple and Microsoft companies.

It is worth noting that in recent years, the company, known as the "Patent Troll", has shot quite fiercely. This is a company that survived for the purchase of patents and relying on actively mobilizing patent infringement lawsuits. According to reports, some people in the industry pointed out that "when we talk about the so -called 'patented hooligan", they are more about NPE (non -practicing entity). "Generally The patent protects these products and services, but NPE only has patents and does not produce products.

In a legal sense, NPE's behavior of patent rights through litigation is understandable. The main difference between patent rights protection and "patent hooligan behavior" is that the motivation is different. According to Xie Xiaoyong, Deputy Secretary -General of the China Intellectual Property Research Association, NPE can be divided into three types: scientific research, speculative models and defense types. Among them, speculation NPE often uses radical and light intellectual property litigation strategies to harass and threaten innovation physical companies. The profit is far higher than the value attached to the value of the patent. In 2015, the Patent Alliance Rockstar Consortium sold more than 4,000 patents held by Nortel for US patent risk management companies RPX CORP, which can authorize patent authorization of more than 30 technology companies including Google and Cisco. According to reports, the RPX Corp is a patent business company in Nasdaq, starting at a patent defense fund, and has long -term cooperation with Microsoft and Nokia, and more and more shows the "hooligan" of patent license companies. Extensive advice. In 2016, a litigation report issued by RPX showed that the 15 companies with the largest number of prosecutions were on the list of Lenovo and Huawei.

Another statistics show that from 2006 to 2010, the "patent hooligan" was acquired by the acquisition of patents and then initiated a patent lawsuit to the target group. Two times the amount ($ 3.4 million).

In fact, no matter whether NPE's behavior has the "patent hooligan" attribute, once a patent lawsuit is encountered, it is difficult for technology companies to escape easily.

The giant "streaking", going to decline

At the beginning of the 21st century, after China joined the WTO, more and more companies chose to enter the international market. Because you do not understand how to use intellectual property law for rights protection, in the face of related lawsuits from local enterprises, some companies have given up their response and have to withdraw from the country; The huge compensation fees should be bear.

On February 25, 2005, a DVD player used by merchants at a exhibition in Shanghai. Figure ｜ IC Photo

The DVD industry is an unforgettable bitter past. In 1993, Jiang Wanmeng and the "father of MPEG" Sun Yansheng founded Wanyan Company, and developed and produced the world's first VCD machine in that year. However, the two founders did not apply for a patent. After the first batch of VCDs produced by Wanyan Company was sold out, it became an anatomy for home appliance companies at home and abroad.

Soon, Wanyan has disclosed VCD production technology and decoding chips. Some foreign companies quickly master the two core technologies of the understanding code chip and movement (CD -ROM reading and driving system) and upgrade technology. The laser visual disk technology adopted on DVD is based on the MPEG-2 standard evolution of MPEG-2 formulated by Wanyan Company in 1994.

However, whoever applies first, the patent right will return. In 2001, the "6C Alliance" consisting of Hitachi, Panasonic, JVC, Mitsubishi, Toshiba, and Times Warner, and the "3C Alliance" composed of Sony, Pioneer, and Philips. , Substantial attack on China's DVD industry. At the beginning, the "6C Alliance" required Chinese companies to pay a patent fee of $ 4 for each DVD player exported to one DVD player; then the "3C Alliance" also deducted the "trigger", and the patent use fee became $ 5.

Note: The "6C Alliance" announced the patent in 1997, and since 1999, it has been sent to various companies to tell the payment of patent fees.

Chinese DVD companies, which have no ability to fight back, cannot take any chips to deal with. In this way, the difficult Chinese DVD industry has stepped step by step into overseas foundries.

It is also HTC that is also regrettable. Because of almost "naked" in the patent, HTC was injured in his duel with Apple. Subsequently, BlackBerry, Samsung, Nokia, and Microsoft also initiated a patent lawsuit against HTC to start a global "hunting". In one -end disputes and ban on sale, the former mobile phone giants declined.

Use the way to make people first

Gradually, Chinese companies realized in realistic shooting that we must deal with it bravely, break through the barriers, and become strong. As a result, they also began to plan their own intellectual property layout.

Information and communication technology (ICT) industry is a patent application. For communications companies, a large number of patents are similar to "occupying" in Go. Among them, the standard necessary patent (SEP) has high commercial value, which means that the technology must be used in research or production. In other words, the income of other people's payment will be considerable. This huge sum of money can also be fed and upgraded product research and development, making it more competitive.

Note: Standard Essential Patent (SEP), as a special patent, is a superposition product of technical standards and patent information, while covering information such as technical standards, corporate strategy and market competition.

On November 7, 2021, at the Fourth Expo in Shanghai, the chip product displayed by Qualcomm of the United States. Figure ｜ China News Agency

Qualcomm is a "patent king" who seated the throne early. It holds a large number of wireless communication standards in the field of 3G and 4G technology, and charges huge patent license fees. According to Qualcomm's financial report, in fiscal 2021, Qualcomm's revenue was US $ 33.6 billion (about 225 billion yuan), of which patented revenue was as high as US $ 6.3 billion (about 38 billion yuan). The high patent license fee forced Intel, Samsung, Nokia, Apple and other companies and Qualcomm to play lawsuits, and "Qualcomm Tax" was also arisen. If an enterprise wants to have a core patent in the communication standard, it is necessary to apply and deploy a patent for multiple possible proposals in advance. With the accumulation of technical accumulation in the 4G era, Huawei has gradually won the right to participate in the formulation of 5G technology standards, and has become a benchmark for Chinese technology companies to counterattack.

Taking channel coding technology as an example, it directly affects the quality of signal transmission. It is the core technology of the development of the communications industry. It is also the key technology for the necessary patent for the standard for communication companies. In the first stage of the 5G stage of the R15 standard in 2016, the technical standards of the channel coding were actually a contest between the United States, China and the European Union. Although in 3G and 4G wireless communication, the Turbo code pushed by the European Union has become a channel coding technical standard and plays a huge role, but in 5G communication technology, the Turbo code exposes the performance attenuation and other problems, and the Turbo code optimization solution has never been fundamentally fundamental Solve the problem. Therefore, the 5G channel code has gradually evolved into a dispute between Qualcomm and Huawei.

The LDPC code dominated by Qualcomm not only has strong anti -interference ability, but also has a decrease in optimized LDPC code complexity, which is easy to apply. Huawei -led Polar code, theoretically, is infinitely close to the limits of Xiangnong (refers to the maximum transmission ideal rate of transmission without errors), which indicates a new direction for channel coding. After many years of research and development of Huawei, while the Polar code improves the 5G encoding performance, the complexity of 5G encoding has been reduced, the business quality is improved, which is of great significance. The 3GPP (third -generation mobile communication partner project) Organization members have comprehensively considered the technical characteristics of different codes. The control channel voting in the channel encoding to select Polar code. The long code and short code in the data channels choose the LDPC code.

It can be seen that Huawei is based on the patent of 5G's necessary patents as its core layout and focusing on the development of 5G application scenarios, so that it has continuously improved its core competitiveness and irreplaceability in 5G technology. According to statistics, in 2021, Huawei is the company with the most authorized patents in China. It ranks first in the number of patent applications in the European Patent Office and ranked fifth in the United States.

Huawei showed more possibilities for Chinese enterprises in the communication field with its own R & D results, and also brought good social and economic benefits to the enterprise itself. Ren Zhengfei mentioned in an interview that "Huawei's intellectual property rights will not be weapon, but interaction permits are necessary." In March 2021, Huawei announced that it would begin charging patent fees in the 5G field, and the upper limit of the patent permit of each mobile phone was $ 2.5.

So, how much patent fee will each mobile phone charge under Qualcomm's billing model? In Apple and Qualcomm's patent lawsuit, the testimony made by Apple to the US Federal Trade Commission showed that the high -oriented to each iPhone charged a $ 7.5 authorization fee, which shows that Qualcomm charges. Earlier, Huawei also paid $ 1.8 billion in negotiations with Qualcomm to reach a long -term patent agreement with them. Today, Huawei has transformed from patent paid to patent tolls. This is not only a transition, but also a perfect counterattack in the field of science and technology.

With the continuous attention and layout of Chinese enterprises in intellectual property rights, the continuous understanding and familiarity of rules and routines, in the face of the "patent sticks" that foreign companies will wave at any time, more and more Chinese companies choose to use the way to develop their own ways to preemptor. , Defend your rights.

The widespread Shenzhen "Simo Moore went to the United States to launch a 337 investigation protection action" is a very representative case. In October 2021, based on the evidence obtained by the customs, the right holder Simo launched the "337" survey of the country's first domestic enterprise in the United States and individuals in the United States.

It is reported that the survey involving three patents and 1 trademark of Simo ceramic atomizing core technology. The Chinese electronic atomization industry has a complete industrial chain, and patents account for 90%of the global patents. However, they often become victims of infringement of foreign companies in market competition. The US market is the largest market for global electronic atomization and a high incidence of electronic atomization patent infringement disputes. As of April 20, 2022, 17 defendants have signed a letter of consent or settlement agreement, and overseas rights protection has obtained a historic breakthrough. This is also the first time that Chinese companies independently have actively sued overseas companies through the "337 survey" procedure.

Blacksmith need its own hardware

Looking at the "going global" Chinese companies, it is all companies that are intellectual property. For example, a large number of Chinese companies such as Huawei, ZTE, Haier, Sanyi Heavy Industry, and Tongliao Technology have enhanced their combat effectiveness in competition through independent innovation and enhance the number and quality of patents in the competition in recent years. Essence

As an enterprise, how to make better use of the "weapon" of intellectual property rights?

*Respecting and protecting intellectual property is the only way for innovation

The intellectual property system is a basic system for protecting scientific and technological innovation. It plays an irreplaceable role in encouraging invention creation, promoting the application of scientific and technological achievements, protecting innovation and creating achievements, and promoting scientific and technological progress and high -quality economic and social development. Enterprises "going global" must respect both the intellectual property rights of others and the protection of their own intellectual property rights. Huawei Chief Legal Officer Song Liuping said in an interview that intellectual property rights are the foundation of innovation and threatened the advancement of global technology that the intellectual property issue politics.

*Need a more complete legal system

After years of development, domestic and more attach importance to intellectual property protection, and relevant laws and regulations have become more complete. At the same time, the continuous growth of professional talents in the field of intellectual property rights, which will become a strong support for Chinese companies to go to sea and respond to international patent litigation.

In addition, my country is also actively participating in global intellectual property governance and jointly promoting the global intellectual property governance system in a more fair and reasonable direction. Taking Sharp in the past two years in many places to sue the OPPO case, China has begun to take the initiative to counter the long -arm jurisdiction of overseas courts.

When Sharp sued OPPO in Munich, Germany, the Shenzhen Intermediate People's Court also issued a ban on OPPO's application. However, only 7 hours after the ban was issued, the Munich First Court issued a "anti -prohibited order" to order OPPO to apply for a ban on the withdrawal of the Shenzhen Intermediate Court. However, the Shenzhen Intermediate People's Court did not pass the security ruling and asked Sharp to withdraw the "anti -prohibited order", but launched the world's first "anti -prohibition order". After that, the Shenzhen Intermediate People's Court once again made a jurisdiction of the OPPO case of OPPO case, confirming that the Chinese courts have jurisdiction over the global permission rate of standards for standards for standards.

*Patent device, the essence is whether the technology is hard enough

On June 6, 2022, on the occasion of the 3rd anniversary of the issuance of 5G commercial licenses in my country, the relevant reports issued by the Intellectual Property Development Research Center of the State Intellectual Property Office in Beijing showed that the current 5G standard for the global statement has a total of more than 210,000 patents, involving 47,000 47,000 The patent family, of which the Chinese statement declared 18,000 patents, accounting for nearly 40%, ranking first in the world. It can be seen that in recent years, China's intellectual property rights have achieved extraordinary achievements from scratch, from small to large, and have become an important part of the global innovation territory.

It is worth noting that China is also the largest country of intellectual property rights. In 2021, China Intellectual Property Import was 46.8 billion U.S. dollars, an increase of 24%, accounting for 11%of the service trade import of the same period. In terms of intellectual property protection, results transformation, application quality, structural adjustment, and rules, China still has many rooms that can improve and optimize. Only by solving these problems can we better move from intellectual property power to intellectual property power.

Reference materials:

1. Huawei 2022 Innovation and Intellectual Property Forum practical records

2. Huawei Intellectual Property White Paper 2020

3. Analysis of Huawei 5G Standard's necessary patent layout and its competitive strategy | Geng Shuping. 20121.05

4. Apple Google "Patent War" Hunter Technology Giants Shelve Disputes ｜ Reference News.2014.05.20

5. "Patent Gangs" appear, please pay attention to high -tech companies! ｜ Science and Technology Daily .2015.01.21

6. Under the guise of "Intellectual Property" hinders innovation and vigilance, "Patent Rogue" | Science and Technology Daily. 20120.11.23

7. The 20 -year patent commercial war of technology companies ｜ Eleven people in finance .2022.05.03

8. Simo International mentioned the "337 Survey" in the United States to prosecute the infringing company | Securities Daily .2021.10.15

9. Huawei: From patent paid to toll patents, it is no longer the "patent" of foreign companies | Beijing Commercial Daily. 2019.06.14

10 patent hunting: 20 -year war between China Science and Technology Corporations and successors | Ginkgo Technology. 20122.04.26

11. Intellectual property cold thinking | Titanium media .2022.04.26

Uncle Ku Welfare

Uncle Ku's book is always there!Press, Renmin University of China, provides Uncle Ku with 15 "Comprehensive Development of People's Democracy" to enthusiastic readers.Multi -level, multi -angle analyzing democratic issues, breaking the western democratic superstition, and establishing socialist democracy and self -confidence.Please comment under the article that the top 3 (more than 50) who likes the highest likes will get a book.