On the afternoon of January 24, the results of the "Top 10 Cases in 2023 for Promoting the Rule of Law Process in the New Era" publicity campaign co-sponsored by the Supreme People's Court and China Central Radio and Television were announced. Among them, the case involving the invention patent and technical secret of "melamine" (Sichuan Jinxiang Sairui Chemical Co., Ltd. and Shandong Hualu Hengsheng Chemical Co., Ltd. and other cases of infringement of technical secrets) was selected.
The new era promotes the process of rule of law
Top 10 Cases of 2023
1. Designated administration of the estate of the widowed and disabled elderly
2. The first civil public interest litigation case of illegal release of alien species in China
3. The first reorganization case of an insurance company in China
4. Hidden overtime labor dispute case
5. Case involving "melamine" invention patent and technical secret
6. Case of Zhou Zhuohua's cross-border gambling criminal group
7. Case of administrative punishment of a restaurant involved in a cold food business license
8. Dispute over charging pile property service contract
9. Case of illegal operation of "Iron Horse Binghe".
10. Environmental public interest litigation case of stealing and cutting "Gu Nanmu Wang".
Basic facts of the case
Intellectual Property Tribunal of the Supreme People's Court:
"Melamine", also known as melamine, is a very important organic chemical raw material, which can be widely used in plastics, textiles, electrical appliances, medicine, flame retardant new materials and other industries. A chemical company in Sichuan and a science and technology company in Beijing jointly enjoy the invention patent right named "energy-saving and capital-saving gas phase quenching melamine production system and process", and a chemical company in Sichuan also has the technical secret of the melamine production system with an annual output of 50,000 tons by pressurized gas phase quenching and cooling. Yin Moumou used to be an engineer of a science and technology company in Beijing and the chief engineer and director of the technology center of a chemical company in Sichuan, and was one of the inventors of the above-mentioned patents and participated in the research and development of relevant technical secrets. In order to build a melamine production line with an annual output of 50,000 tons, a chemical company in Shandong signed a tripartite agreement with two companies in Ningbo, and the two companies in Ningbo provided technology and construction design respectively. The two companies in Ningbo illegally obtained a technical package containing patented technical solutions and other technical secrets from Yin, and asked Yin to help modify the corresponding technical drawings and give high remuneration, and Yin went to the construction site of a chemical company in Shandong many times to investigate problems and provide technical guidance during the construction of the production line. In April 2014, a production line entered trial production, and by May 2020, a chemical company in Shandong used the production line to produce and sell melamine products, with a reasonable profit of between 257 million yuan and 436 million yuan. A chemical company in Sichuan and a technology company in Beijing filed patent infringement and technical secret infringement lawsuits in the courts of Guangdong and Sichuan respectively. The court of first instance in the patent infringement case found that a chemical company in Shandong and the two companies in Ningbo had jointly committed an act of infringing the patent in question, and the court of first instance in the case of technical secrets found that the four defendants, including a chemical company in Shandong, had jointly committed an act of infringing on technical secrets. The Supreme People's Court reversed the judgment of the second instance in favor of all the claims of the right holders, ordered the destruction of the infringing production system within a time limit, and jointly and severally compensated the rights holders in full for economic losses and reasonable expenses totaling RMB 218 million.
Reasons for selection
Intellectual Property Tribunal of the Supreme People's Court:
This is currently the case in which the people's court has awarded the highest amount of compensation for the same project. The second-instance judgment of the patent case was revised to 120 million yuan, which is the highest amount of compensation awarded in the intellectual property court of the Supreme People's Court since the establishment of the Intellectual Property Tribunal, and the compensation amount of the second-instance judgment in the technical secret case was 98 million yuan, which is the second time that the court has awarded a high amount of compensation for the infringement of technical secrets after the "vanillin" case in 2021 awarded 159 million yuan. At the same time, by actively exploring the specific ways and scope of stopping the infringement, the two cases ordered the defendant to destroy the large-scale infringing production line within a time limit, including but not limited to dismantling, so as to demonstrate the thoroughness of stopping the infringement, effectively stop the infringement and protect intellectual property rights. As one of the infringers, a chemical company in Shandong is a listed enterprise with a state-owned background, and the judgment of this case fully embodies the trial concept of strengthening judicial protection of intellectual property rights in the new era of strong protection, effective protection and equal protection.
Details of the case
Awarded 218 million in compensation! The chief engineer left his job to leak the patent
Sichuan Jinxiang v. Hualu Hengsheng and others won the infringement case after 9 years
(According to Red Star News)
In April 2023, Sichuan Jinxiang Sairui Chemical Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Sichuan Jinxiang Company), located in Meishan City, Sichuan, finally fell on the stones in the hearts of many employees: after 9 years of hard work and difficult litigation, Sichuan Jinxiang Company v. Shandong Hualu Hengsheng Chemical Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Hualu Hengsheng) and other four defendants won the final trial of the infringement of invention patent rights and the infringement of technical secrets.
The "Typical Cases of the Intellectual Property Tribunal of the Supreme People's Court (2022)" released by the Supreme People's Court on March 30 clearly mentioned that in the above-mentioned two cases of infringement of invention patents and technical secrets related to the production of melamine (alias melamine), the Supreme People's Court held in the second instance that the successive acts of infringement by the accused infringers constituted a complete chain of infringements, which constituted a joint intentional infringement and should be jointly and severally liable for all infringement damages.
According to the two Civil Judgments obtained by the reporter ([2020] Zui Gao Fa Zhi Min Zhong No. 1559) and ([2022] Zui Gao Fa Zhi Min Zhong No. 541), the Supreme People's Court found that Hua Lu Hengsheng and other alleged infringers constituted joint infringement and should bear all joint and several liability for compensation, and ordered Hua Lu Hengsheng, Ningbo Houcheng Company, Ningbo Design Institute Company and other infringers to pay compensation to the right holders (Sichuan Jinxiang Company, Beijing Yejing Technology Co., Ltd.), compensated 120 million yuan for losses and expenses related to invention patents, and 98 million yuan for losses and expenses related to technical secrets, totaling 218 million yuan.
At the same time, the SPC also required Hualu Hengsheng and other enterprises to immediately stop the infringement of the use of their 100,000 tons/year melamine project (Phase I), including the patented melamine production method, immediately stop selling the relevant products, and destroy the existing infringing melamine production system.
According to the Supreme People's Court, the two cases ordered the defendants to jointly and severally compensate the rights holder for economic losses totaling RMB 218 million, which is the highest amount of compensation awarded by the people's court for the same project in an intellectual property infringement case, and the judgment not only demonstrates the people's court's firm attitude of effectively strengthening the judicial protection of intellectual property rights, but also fully reflects the integrated treatment and equal protection of all types of enterprises, such as domestic and foreign-funded enterprises, state-owned and private enterprises.
↑Sichuan Golden Elephant Sairui Chemical Co., Ltd. factory
▶▶▶Verdict.
The four defendants, including the state-owned listed company, were convicted of joint infringement
The two verdicts obtained by the reporter show that the above two cases are-
Sichuan Jinxiang Sairui Chemical Co., Ltd. and Beijing Yejing Technology Co., Ltd. (a subsidiary of Sichuan Jinxiang Holdings, hereinafter referred to as Beijing Yejing) v. Shandong Hualu Hengsheng Co., Ltd., Ningbo Houcheng Management Consulting Co., Ltd. (formerly Ningbo Far East Chemical Group Co., Ltd., hereinafter referred to as Ningbo Houcheng Company), Ningbo Antai Environmental Chemical Engineering Design Co., Ltd. (formerly Ningbo Chemical Research and Design Institute Co., Ltd., hereinafter referred to as Ningbo Design Institute Co., Ltd.) and Yin Moumou in a dispute over infringement of invention patent rights, and Sichuan Jinxiang v. Hualu Hengsheng Company, Ningbo Houcheng Company, Ningbo Design Institute Company and Yin Moumou in a dispute over infringement of technical secrets.
According to the facts disclosed by the Supreme People's Court, Sichuan Jinxiang Company and Beijing Yejing Company are the owners of the invention patent with patent number 201110108644.9 and the name of "energy-saving and capital-saving vapor phase quenching melamine production system and process", and Sichuan Jinxiang Company is also the owner of the technical secrets related to the method of producing melamine by pressurized gas phase quenching and the production system using this method. Sichuan Jinxiang Company and Beijing Yejing Company filed a lawsuit with the Guangzhou Intellectual Property Court against Hualu Hengsheng Company and other four defendants for infringing the patent rights involved in the case. Sichuan Jinxiang Company also filed a lawsuit with the Chengdu Intermediate People's Court of Sichuan Province against the above-mentioned four defendants for infringing on technical secrets. The two courts of first instance respectively found that the four defendants had jointly committed patent infringement and technical secret infringement, and both ruled to stop the infringement and partially supported the relevant claims for damages.
Melamine products on supermarket shelves
After the first-instance judgment, both parties were dissatisfied with both cases and appealed. According to the judgment of the Supreme People's Court ([2020] Zui Gao Fa Zhi Min Zhong No. 1559), the court of first instance determined that the reasonable profit of Hualu Hengsheng Company from the production and sale of melamine products in the first phase of the melamine project involved in the case between May 2014 and May 2020 was between 257 million and 436 million yuan, which had sufficient factual basis, and this court affirmed it.
The Supreme People's Court held in the second instance that the accused infringers had the intention to infringe, subjectively knew each other, and successively committed the corresponding infringing acts, constituting a complete chain of tortious acts, and objectively divided labor and cooperation, which was a joint intentional infringement act, and should be jointly and severally liable for all infringing damages. The judgment was changed to support all the claims of the right holder, and ordered the infringer to destroy the infringing production system and related technical secret carriers by means including but not limited to dismantling, and jointly and severally compensate the right holder for economic losses totaling 218 million yuan (including 120 million yuan for invention patent infringement cases and 98 million yuan for technical secret infringement cases). At the same time, Hualu Hengsheng and other enterprises are required to immediately stop the use and infringement of their 100,000 tons/year melamine project (phase I), including the patented melamine production method, immediately stop selling related products, and destroy the existing infringing melamine production system.
According to the information of the Supreme People's Court, the right holder, Sichuan Jinxiang Company, is a Sino-foreign joint venture, Beijing Yejing Company is a high-tech private enterprise, and Hualu Hengsheng Company, one of the infringers, is a state-owned listed enterprise.
↑ Relevant materials of the case released by the Supreme People's Court
▶▶▶Behind.
After the chief engineer left office, the patented technology was leaked
How did Sichuan Jinxiang Company's invention patents and technical secrets leak?
The relevant judgment states that in 2021, the Meishan Intermediate People's Court made a criminal judgment: "On July 1, 2006, Yin Moumou signed a work contract and confidentiality agreement with Yejing Company (i.e., Beijing Yejing Company in this case), served as a project engineer of Yejing Company, and was sent to work in Yuxiang Company (i.e., Sichuan Yuxiang Melamine Technology Company, a subsidiary of Sichuan Jinxiang), and successively served as the chief engineer of Yuxiang Company. The director of the technical center, responsible for the engineering and production operation management of the melamine project, during his tenure mastered the core technical secrets of the company's melamine production, and then Yin Moumou violated the requirements of the right holder to keep business secrets after leaving without authorization, and disclosed and allowed others to use the ' Pressurized gas phase quenching melamine production technology', caused particularly serious consequences to Sichuan Jinxiang, its behavior constituted the crime of infringing on trade secrets, and sentenced Yin Moumou to the crime of infringing on trade secrets, sentenced to five years and six months in prison, and fined 2.8 million yuan, Yin Moumou's illegal gains of 950,000 yuan were recovered, and the seizure authority confiscated the two laptops seized in the case, and the rest of the seized items were disposed of by the seizure authority in accordance with law. ”
The judgment also shows that Ningbo Houcheng Company and Ningbo Design Institute Company also stated in the original trial that Yin Moumou played an important role in the manufacturing process of the allegedly infringing production system. Yin Moumou once served as the chief engineer of Sichuan Jinxiang Company and related companies, and illegally held a full set of drawings for the melamine project of Sichuan Jinxiang Company and Beijing Yejing Company. Under the premise that Ningbo Design Institute Company designed the allegedly infringing production system for Hualu Hengsheng Company, it still provided the drawings and technical data of the relevant components of the equipment that could realize the patented technical solution to Ningbo Houcheng Company and Ningbo Design Institute Company, and went to the production site of Hualu Hengsheng Company to help solve the technical problems encountered in the production process of using the patented method involved in the case, and trained the technical personnel of Hualu Hengsheng Company. After that, Hualu Hengsheng Company used this technology to produce products and sell them.
Melamine powder
▶▶▶ Supreme Court
It reflects the equal protection of domestic capital, foreign capital, state-owned enterprises and private enterprises
According to public information, Shandong Hualu Hengsheng Chemical Co., Ltd. is a company with chemical fertilizer, chemical industry, thermal power and gas as its main business, and is one of the top 100 chemical comprehensive benefits in China and one of the 200 key enterprise groups in Shandong Province.
Sichuan Jinxiang Sairui Chemical Co., Ltd. is mainly engaged in the production and sales of melamine, nitro compound fertilizer, water-soluble fertilizer, ammonium nitrate, hydrogen peroxide and other chemical raw materials and fertilizer products, ranking among the top 500 petroleum and chemical (comprehensive) enterprises in 2022 (145th), the top 50 fertilizer enterprises in terms of sales revenue (13th), and the top 100 manufacturing enterprises in Sichuan Province in 2022 (50th).
According to the SPC, the typical significance of this case lies in the fact that it is currently the highest amount of compensation awarded by the people's court for the same construction project. The right holder, Sichuan Jinxiang Company, is a Sino-foreign joint venture, Beijing Yejing Company is a high-tech private enterprise, and one of the infringers, Hualu Hengsheng Company, is a state-owned listed enterprise. The judgments of the two cases not only demonstrate the people's courts' firm attitude of effectively strengthening the judicial protection of intellectual property rights, but also fully demonstrate the integrated treatment and equal protection of all types of enterprises, such as domestic and foreign-funded enterprises, state-owned and private enterprises. This case is of reference significance for the handling of similar cases with regard to the determination of joint intentional infringement and all joint and several liability, the factors to be considered in the calculation of the amount of compensation, and the handling method of destroying the infringing carrier in the liability to stop infringement.
The relevant person in charge of Sichuan Jinxiang Company said that the above-mentioned intellectual property rights protection lawsuit, from July 2014 to the end of 2022, went through 3 jurisdictional opposition lawsuits, 5 patent invalidation administrative lawsuits, 2 patent ownership dispute lawsuits and other difficult processes, and finally won the victory, which not only allowed Sichuan Jinxiang Company to obtain considerable economic compensation, but also allowed the infringer to be punished as it should be, which is a milestone for the healthy development of the enterprise.
Judgments
(2020) Supreme Law Zhi Min Zhong No. 1559
(2022) Supreme Law Zhi Min Zhong No. 541
Source: Comprehensive Supreme People's Court, CCTV News, Red Star News