SEPTEMBER 2008
Meet China's litigation pioneer
Peter Ollier talks to Vincent Zhong, vice president of Netac Technology, the first Chinese company to sue an American rival in the US for patent infringement
| One-minute read |
| Commentators everywhere are expecting Chinese companies to move from being IP infringers to IP owners and enforcers. The question is, when? Netac got people talking about this process in 2006 when it sued an American company in the US for patent infringement. But litigating in the US is very different from litigating in China, which does not have discovery. For Netac the decision to enforce its rights was not easy, and the company had to think about costs, the burden of discovery and depositions as well as which law firm to choose. Vincent Zhong discusses these problems and explains why he thinks more companies could be following Netac's lead. |
Every Netac employee walking to their desk in the morning passes an impressive display of patent grants and awards from the USPTO, SIPO and a host of industry associations. While many people still think that Chinese companies prefer to ignore IP, here – in the heart of Shenzhen's Hi-Tech Industrial Park in Guangdong Province – is a company that takes its patents seriously and is proud of its achievements.
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