European Union takes China to WTO over smartphone patents
- Reference: 1645426633
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2022/02/21/eu_takes_china_to_wto_over_smartphone_ip/
- Source link:
Announced late last week, the EU's action is yet to appear on the WTO's [1]disputes list , but a [2]statement outlines the dispute as centring on an allegation that "China severely restricts EU companies with rights to key technologies (such as 3G, 4G and 5G) from protecting these rights when their patents are used illegally or without appropriate compensation by, for example, Chinese mobile phone manufacturers."
The statement allows that some cases do make it into Chinese courts, but that Chinese companies use a legal gambit called an "anti-suit injunction" that prevents a complainant pursuing similar action in jurisdictions other than China – despite such actions often being necessary to press a case.
[3]
Fines for ignoring such injunctions can reach €130,000 ($147,000) a day. So companies pursuing action outside China can see the injunctions issued, resulting in fines being threatened or issued within China. As legal bills and fines mount, the EU feels its tech companies feel pressure to settle – often agreeing to licence fees for their IP that are below market rates.
[4]
[5]
China's Supreme Court – which does not enjoy the same independence and freedom from political influence as courts in other nations – has approved the use of such injunctions.
[6]UK starts to ponder how Huawei ban would work
[7]WeChat, AliExpress added to US Notorious Markets list
[8]Chip CFOs get a crash course in silicon geopolitics
[9]EU digital sovereignty: Cloud players unconvinced
The EU's statement claims its efforts to discuss the situation with China have been ignored, leaving it with no alternative but to seek a consultation with the WTO.
While the trade organization tries to move things along, disputes can take years to reach a resolution.
The EU argues that it just wants its telecoms innovators to get a fair price for their IP. China's foreign ministry has not given a briefing since last Friday, and the conclusion of the Beijing Winter Olympics has dominated government output in recent days, so no response to the EU action is apparent.
[10]
If China acts true to form, it will deny everything and proclaim its phone-makers are paragons of legal compliance and innovative spirit.
Many allege otherwise, with recent complaints that Chinese firms have pinched tech for [11]chipmaking and [12]walkie-talkies , used [13]front companies to invest in Taiwanese tech firms to access their secrets, and [14]attacked US businesses every 12 hours in search of trade secrets. ®
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[1] https://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/dispu_e/cases_e/ds610_e.htm
[2] https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_22_1103
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/legal&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2YhNw2sT5YHQ3CJm4OhDuZAAAANY&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/legal&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44YhNw2sT5YHQ3CJm4OhDuZAAAANY&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[5] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/legal&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33YhNw2sT5YHQ3CJm4OhDuZAAAANY&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[6] https://www.theregister.com/2022/02/18/uk_huawei_consultation/
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2022/02/18/wechat_and_aliexpress_ustr_notorious_list/
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2022/02/15/global_cfo_semiconductors/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2022/02/17/france_eu_sovereignty/
[10] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/legal&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44YhNw2sT5YHQ3CJm4OhDuZAAAANY&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2022/02/11/asml_chinese_rival_ip_abuse/
[12] https://www.theregister.com/2022/02/08/hytera_motorola_ip_theft_accusation/
[13] https://www.theregister.com/2022/02/18/taiwan_chinese_espionage/
[14] https://www.theregister.com/2022/02/03/fbi_china_threat_to_usa/
[15] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Re: Tit for tat.
Yeah, that's a great plan as long as you don't think about it for more than a couple of seconds.
Re: Tit for tat.
Do they have any because they're stealing everyone elses? (joke)
Re: Tit for tat.
Could be a good way of copying a competitor's IP by copying the Chinese who copied it from the competitor in the first place.
Re: Tit for tat.
They have always ignored the IP.
Then they started playing by the rules, because it benefitred them, and we stopped playing by the rules (see Huawei).
A sad situation where most people don'tcare about fair or the law.
And Chinese courts? well, good luck if you are not chinese.
Re: Tit for tat.
About 8 years ago, i was told the story of a Huawei card working in the latest Cisco kit, to prove that they had reverse engineered the Cisco kit to such an extent, it was a blatant copy.
So, was that story just an urban myth ?
What happened to Mitel ?
We have always known technology is stolen by others, but are the Chinese vastly more prolific at it ?
Will continue
Forever while the CCP are in control. Xi has already started to lock the country down, as a foreigner you can no longer travel there, unless they want something you have.
What some don't realise is for foreign companies to trade in their market over there, they are forced to partner with a Chinese company which is normally always a CCP controlled one. Appears Apple don't give a shit about their phones being ripped off otherwise they'd pull out of the market.
Re: Appears Apple don't give a shit about their phones being ripped off
Or they've balanced the profit and loss scenarios and are gambling that it's a net win for them?
Re: Appears Apple don't give a shit about their phones being ripped off
Apple have very little of what we'd consider protected IP. They licence almost everything about how a phone works.
What they do own is the specific embodiment of a few physical items, the OS and the keys used to sign them.
I presume they're betting that any attempts made to clone their phones will fail because they keep the keys secret. A phone that is an exact clone of the hardware won't run iOS unless it's got the right keys burned into some components.
I wonder, could this actually be why Apple are so vehemently against the right to repair?
Fines? Fine.
Fines for ignoring such injunctions can reach €130,000 ($147,000) a day.
So at most a bit under €47.5M (a bit over $53.5M) a year. Is it a significant sum for a smartphone manufacturer or a rounding error?
Re: Fines? Fine.
Except that there are often multiple cases. If you believe your IP is being infringed, a common remedy is to bring an action in a country where the disputed products are being sold to prevent their being imported. You might want to do that in a number of markets. If every time you try it a court in China issues you with a legal order to desist until the patent validity has been determined by a Chinese court then the fines will soon mount up.
And if they were not a deterrent, they would soon be raised to a level at which they would be.
Turn and Turn about / The (US) patient system is broken
So with America taking a strong anti-China policy with various sanctions against their tech companies, AND the US legal system being REALLY bias favouring US companies whenever they violate other countries patients wouldn't a more sensible approach be to get rid of software patients.
Once we get to hardware patients then put EVERYTHING into [1]FRAND ?
[1] https://www.upcounsel.com/frand-licensing
or stop manufacturing in China and ban anything that infringes IP until a WTO IP court decides one way or another. Good luck getting countries signed up to that !
Take them to court outside China
Get a court injunction in the EU, USA, ... to prevent the Chinese made goods being sold in the EU, USA, ... on the grounds of IP violation.
Tit for tat.
If China wants to ignore everyone else's IP, then return the favour & ignore theirs.
"You can't do that, it's (illegal/immoral/unethical)!"
Pot meet kettle. Don't like it, don't let your nation's companies get away with it, that way other nation's might be more willing to respect your own IP.