China Moves From Piracy to Patents
In the modest offices of Netac Technology Co., Chief Executive Frank Deng keeps a copy of a U.S.-issued patent awarded to his company in his desk drawer.
"I keep it close at hand for whoever wants to see," the executive says of the patent covering small drives for storing computer data.
Closely held Netac is one among many technology enterprises in tech-heavy Shenzhen -- and across China -- that are paying closer attention to patents these days. As more companies throughout the country try to become product innovators rather than just low-cost manufacturers of goods born elsewhere, Chinese concerns are vying for patents like never before, and some are even taking on multinational corporations such as Sony Corp. and Intel Corp. over intellectual-property matters.
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Patent applications filed by Chinese companies with the World Intellectual Property Organization, an agency with a United Nations mandate that serves as the first stop for such applications in 126 countries, jumped in 2004 to 1,782, up 38% from the number filed a year earlier. The number of Chinese applications is still tiny in relative terms -- 41,870 applications were filed by U.S. companies in 2004. And the filings aren't proof of innovation; since patents are country-specific, some of the filings are for technology that already may be patented elsewhere.
But they show Chinese companies are getting more aggressive about intellectual property. A filing takes time and money; the average fee for a WIPO patent application is 1,250 Swiss francs, or about $1,037.
"Awareness of intellectual property in China is relatively new," says Francis Gurry, a WIPO official. "But that awareness is spreading, and Chinese enterprises are looking to protect their technology."
Some of the Chinese applications, such as Mr. Deng's, ultimately are filed in the most important market for technology: the U.S.
Touting local technology and promoting innovation are now priorities for China. For instance, in Guangdong province, profits made through patented products are exempt from corporate income tax for five years.
The central government, which directed such efforts, has been spurred in part by increased foreign competition. After joining the World Trade Organization in 2001, China had to revamp its patent-application process. Once the gates were opened to foreigners, Beijing naturally wanted its own companies to file early and often, says Li Yahong, a professor of law at Hong Kong University.
Some of the busiest filers, such as Huawei Technologies Co. and ZTE Corp., boast of focusing heavily on research and development. A ZTE representative says the company has a total of 2,300 patents filed domestically, in Europe and in the U.S.
The trend could foreshadow the burst of patents like that seen in Taiwan a few years ago as it moved from an imitator to an innovator in semiconductor manufacturing. But experts in intellectual property note that patent applications in themselves don't necessarily translate into unique products.
But while it is statistically true that Chinese companies are filing for more patents, "it doesn't mean China is actually innovating more," says Anne Stevenson-Yang, managing director of the U.S. Information Technology Office in Beijing, a trade group representing more than 6,000 U.S. high-tech companies in China. She says the real test of innovation is how many Chinese companies are making money on new technology, rather than on price cutting.
"If you look at Chinese companies that compete internationally...the overwhelming majority compete on price," she says.
Netac is too small to exploit economies of scale and compete on price alone, so it relies on its ability to innovate, says Mr. Deng. It is also turning to the courts to protect its technology. The company, which specializes in making the small storage devices for computer data, is suing Sony Electronics (Wuxi) Ltd., a unit of Sony Corp. of Japan, in a Shenzhen court.
Netac says Sony's distribution of storage drives from a factory in Wuxi is illegally infringing on Netac's patented technology. It is asking the courts to stop Sony's sale of the product and for compensation of $1.2 million.
"We are confident we will win," Mr. Deng says. "There are a lot of companies like us in China that are focusing on technology, not just manufacturing." Sony said that it is "disappointed" by the lawsuit and is investigating the complaint.
"Most of these cases aren't very successful," Wen Ping Chen, a partner at King & Wood PRC Lawyers in Beijing, says of infringement claims in China. "But I cannot exclude the possibility that there are good patents by local companies" that could win in the courts.
中国企业加快专利权保护步伐
在朗科科技(Netac Technology Co.)不起眼的办公室里，总裁邓国顺(Frank Deng)手边的抽屉里总是放著一份美国颁发给该公司的专利证书副本。
“我一直把它放在手边，以便感兴趣的人随时查看。”他指的朗科科技获得的美国闪存盘基础发明专利。
少数人持股的朗科科技是近来越发关注专利权问题的深圳众多科技企业之一。越来越多的中国公司希望成为产品创新者，而不仅仅是其他国家的低成本代工商。它们正在以前所未有的热情争夺专利权，一些公司甚至就知识产权问题向索尼公司(Sony Corp，又名：新力公司)、英特尔(Intel Corp.)之类的跨国企业发起挑战。
中国企业向世界知识产权组织(World Intellectual Property Organization, 简称WIPO)递交的专利权申请2004年猛增到1,782件，比一年前增加了38%。世界知识产权组织是联合国的一个专门机构，是126个国家专利权审批的第一站。
相比较而言，中国提交专利权申请的数量仍显得微不足道──美国公司的申请数量为41,870件。而且，这些申请并不就代表著创新；因为专利权只限定于特定的国家，其中申请的一些技术专利或许已经在其他地方获得了专利权。
不过，这显示出中国企业正在越来越积极地进行知识产权保护。递交专利权申请是件又耗时又费力的事情；一份WIPO专利权申请的平均费用为1,250瑞士法郎，约合1,040美元。
WIPO的官员盖瑞(Francis Gurry)说，中国的知识产权保护意识刚刚形成，但是正在迅速蔓延，中国企业正在寻求保护它们的技术。
朗科科技等中国公司的一些专利权申请主要是在最重要的技术市场──美国提交的。
中国目前正在大力倡导国产技术、鼓励创新。例如，在广东省，通过专利权产品获得的利润可以享受5年免缴企业所得税的待遇。
来自国外的竞争日益加剧是促使中央政府指导地方出台此类举措的部分原因。在2001年加入世界贸易组织(World Trade Organization)之后，中国不得不修改其专利权申请程序。香港大学(Hong Kong University)法学教授李亚红（音）说，一旦国门完全对外国竞争者开放，中国自然希望本国的公司能够尽早而且经常地提交专利权申请。
递交申请最多的一些公司，如华为技术(Huawei Technologies Co.)和中兴通讯(ZTE Corp.)等，都十分重视产品研发。中兴通讯的一位代表称，公司在国内、欧洲和美国已经总共申请了2,300项专利。
这一趋势可能预示著专利权申请高潮即将爆发，正如几年前台湾的情形一样。当时，台湾正从半导体制造领域的模仿者转向创新者。
但是，美国资讯产业机构(U.S. Information Technology Office, 代表在中国开展业务的6,000多家美国高科技公司的贸易机构）驻北京首席代表杨思安(Anne Stevenson-Yang)说，虽然从数字上来，中国公司申请的专利数量增多，但是这并不意味著中国真正实现了更多的创新。她说，检验的真正标准应该是有多少中国企业通过新技术而不是成本削减来盈利。
她说，“如果你看看在国际市场上竞争的中国企业就会发现，绝大多数都是在价格上竞争。”
朗科科技总裁邓国顺称，公司规模太小，单凭自身无法实现规模效应并且在价格上竞争，因此它主要依赖于自己的创新能力。这家闪存盘生产商目前在深圳一家法院向索尼旗下的索尼电子（无锡）有限公司(Sony Electronics (Wuxi) Ltd.)提起诉讼。
朗科科技称，索尼无锡工厂生产的闪存盘侵犯了其专利技术。它要求索尼立即停止产品销售，并赔偿120万美元。
“我们坚信能打赢这场官司，”邓国顺说，“在中国有很多象我们这样的公司侧重于技术研发，而不仅仅是生产。”
索尼称，它对诉讼感到“遗憾”，将进行彻底调查。
在另一宗知识产权纠纷中，网络设备制造商制造商、深圳东进通讯(Shenzhen Donjin Communication Technology Co.)的子公司北京东进信达科技有限公司(Beijing Donjin Xinda Technology Co.)本周在北京对英特尔提出反诉，指控其非法垄断技术。英特尔去年12月份起诉东进侵犯了其计算机软件著作权。
深圳东进证实了反诉一事，但拒绝进一步置评。英特尔的一位代表人士称。公司有义务保护自己的知识产权，它相信深圳法院将会尊重它的权利。
北京金杜律师事务所(King & Wood PRC Lawyers)的合伙人陈文平在谈及中国的知识产权诉讼时说，“多数案件的结果并不很理想。但是我不排除国内公司一些好的专利可能胜诉的可能性。”
