The pain caused to China's tire companies four years ago by the " tire special protection case" has been vividly remembered. As domestic enterprises accelerated transformation and upgrading, they gradually emerged from the shadow of the United States' International Trade Commission (ITC). A paper decree again caused heavy losses to our tire companies. In 2013, Japan’s Toyo Rubber Co., Ltd. filed a “337 investigation” request with ITC on the grounds that tires imported from the US and sold in the United States infringed its patent rights. The survey involved more than 20 companies, including 7 Chinese companies. . After nearly six months of investigation, ITC recently issued a ban on sales and compensation decisions to six Chinese companies, including Shandong Weifang Shunfuchang Rubber Co., Ltd. and Shandong Linglong Tire Co., Ltd. This means that six Chinese companies will not only surrender the original market share, but will also face a high level of economic compensation.

In recent years, the tire industry in China has grown and the export volume of products has grown rapidly. The data shows that as of the end of 2013, domestic tire sales accounted for almost half of the global tire market. At the same time, however, domestic tire companies have a certain gap with foreign companies in terms of core technology. In addition to the lack of corresponding patent early warnings, foreign competitors are trying to stop the overseas expansion of Chinese tire companies through "patent sticks."

In this regard, relevant experts said that China's tire companies should continue to strengthen technical research and development, accelerate the structural adjustment of tire products, pay full attention to patent protection, and constantly improve the ability to deal with patent disputes and international competitiveness.

Sales account for half the country's technological level gap

In recent years, the rapid development of China's automobile industry has led to the rapid rise of the tire industry, tire production and sales showed a rapid growth. According to the latest report published by the newspaper.com, the “China's Tire Industry Survey and Development Prospects Analysis Report from 2014 to 2018” shows that: As of the end of 2013, there were 565 tire manufacturing enterprises above designated size in China. The annual sales revenue was RMB 511.844 billion, which was approximately 839.51. Billion U.S. dollars, and the global tire market was about 180 billion U.S. dollars in that year, and domestic tire sales accounted for 45% of the world's total tire sales.

“In terms of comprehensive competitiveness, tire manufacturers that have taken the domestic market by storm have formed three echelons. The first echelon is a multinational giant represented by Bridgestone, Michelin, Goodyear, etc. They firmly occupy high-end cars. , light truck radial tire market; the second echelon is Hangzhou Zhongce, exquisite rubber, Fengshen shares, double money shares and other well-known local tire companies, product positioning in the mid-range cars, light truck radial tires, etc.; the third echelon for the domestic large number of The small and medium-sized tire manufacturing enterprises have a low level of technology and occupy a part of the low-end tire market due to their low cost.” Ma Siming, an industry researcher at China Merchants Information Network Industry Research Institute, said in an interview with a China Intellectual Property News reporter that at present, transnational large-scale Tire enterprises rely on their advantages in capital and technology to firmly occupy the high-end product market. For example, in the passenger car tire market, foreign-funded enterprises account for 70% of the market share. Domestic tires are mainly concentrated in the replacement tire market, and almost no entry into the original tire market.

By accelerating the digestion, absorption and innovation progress of tire import technology, China's tire production technology continues to mature. However, it is undeniable that China's small and medium-sized tire companies are numerous and their industrial clusters are not high. When many companies face market challenges, they do not have enough capacity to participate in competition, which results in the restriction of the development of the entire industry.

Ma Siming told reporters that at present, domestic tire companies are still technically far from the top companies in foreign countries. Michelin and other foreign companies have developed new technologies, both tire processing methods and tire design theory are strengthened. Innovation has pushed tire structural design from the experience and semi-experience stages to the stage of mathematics and theorization. Although China has also carried out research work in this area and has made some progress, the core technology of the basic software is still in the hands of foreign companies, and there is also a lack of predictive technology through experimental verification.

The majority of design patent protection needs to be improved

From the "tire special protection case" to the "337 investigation" encountered by this time, China's tire manufacturing companies seem to have been very passive. In addition to unfamiliar with international rules, lack of experience in responding to patent infringement disputes and other reasons, the lack of core technologies, research and innovation The lack of capacity is also the root cause of the inability of domestic tire companies to “talk straight”.

Li Hongmei, an examiner of the Department of Mechanical Investigation of the Patent Office of the Patent Office of the State Intellectual Property Office of the Patent Office, and his team had researched the status of Chinese patent applications for domestic and foreign companies in the field of tires. They found through patent literature search that as of March 2014, patents in China The applicants with the highest number of applications were Michelin, Sumitomo Rubber, and Bridgestone's three foreign companies. Their total number of patent applications in China reached 5,305, and 70% were patent applications for inventions, most of which were patents. Submitted by the Treaty on Cooperation (PCT).

In contrast, the total number of patent applications for domestic tire companies is relatively small. The companies ranked in the top 6 patent applications are Xiamen Zhengxin, Shandong Linglong, Triangle Tires, Fengshen Tire, Hangzhou Zhongce, and Shanghai Rubber Tires. A total of 1,597 patent applications were filed by 6 companies, of which 77% were design patent applications and PCT international patent applications had not yet been filed.

"From the perspective of the number of patent applications and authorizations, there is a certain gap between the technical level of China's tire companies and major foreign tire companies." Gu Jiayun is a member of the research team. She pointed out in an interview with this reporter that the three foreign countries The invention patent applications of tire companies in China all cover products and methods, that is, the new products and their production methods have all been patented. This shows that foreign major tire manufacturers have a strong sense of patent protection, and pay attention to the construction of patent chains and patent nets. However, domestic tire companies often only apply for patents for product ideas.

Strive for internal breakthroughs and strengthen early warning to enter overseas

With the intensification of international competition for tire products, some developed countries have used intellectual property rules to curb the participation of Chinese enterprises in international competition. Facts have also proved that intellectual property rights have become one of the main means to crack down on competitors and seize the market advantage. China's tire companies can only break through the blockade of foreign competitors by strengthening the use and protection of intellectual property rights.

According to Li Yuheng, a senior research fellow at China Investment Corporation, domestic companies need to work harder to improve their own strength and strengthen their strength and courage to deal with the challenges. "Domestic companies participating in international competitions should not only understand relevant foreign laws and regulations, but also should be familiar with the protection of intellectual property within the industry, and seek breakthroughs in technology, avoiding similar designs, and pursuing differentiated innovations to prevent them from falling under competitors. "The patent trap." Li Yuheng said in an interview with this reporter that domestic tire companies should be market-oriented, with scientific and technological progress as a driving force, centering on variety, quality, and effectiveness, to accelerate the structural adjustment of tire products and strengthen technological development. With innovation, improve the level of production technology and management technology; enhance the degree of industrial intensive, achieve economic scale, and enhance the competitiveness of enterprises.

Ma Siming also expressed the same point of view. He believes that the domestic and international competition in the tire industry is ultimately a contest of technological level. Domestic tire companies must persist in technological innovation and improve tires in order to catch up with advanced foreign standards and gain a stable global market share. The design, manufacturing process and equipment, and continuously strengthen the combination of production, teaching and research, developed more core technologies and products with independent intellectual property rights, in order to promote the progress of tire technology and product upgrading. In addition, tire companies need to keep abreast of the latest market information and technological trends, through global research, localization design, so that tire products more suitable for market demand, but also more international competitiveness.

In the case of responding to the “337 investigation”, the partner of US Metco Law Firm and lawyer Meyley believes that the “337 investigation” of Chinese companies has a much higher loss rate than the world average. One of the important reasons lies in the Weak awareness of intellectual property rights, lack of experience in dealing with international patent disputes, and lack of professional team management.

Merle suggested that Chinese companies should do a good job in patent early warning analysis during the process of going global and avoid falling into other people’s patent traps. In case of patent litigation, the other party's prosecution purpose should be analyzed and a detailed strategy should be formulated in order to make an effective response.

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