Aux Group Fined US$7.2 million for Infringing Gree Patent
in China

In November of 2017, Zhuhai-based Gree Electric Appliances sued Ningbo-based air conditioning manufacturer AUX Group at the Guangzhou Intellectual Property Court for patent infringement, according to the news site of tech firm MyDrivers. Gree asked the court to grant an injunction and requested damages of RMB40 million (US$6.3 million). The court recently announced its verdict on first instance, ordering AUX to pay damages of RMB46 million (US$7.2 million), a record breaking amount for air conditioning litigation in the country.

China Accounts for 22% of Global AI Patents:
Gov’t Economist

Chinese patents currently account for 22% of global AI patents, according to recent remarks by Wang Xinzhe, the chief economist of China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, as cited by the People’s Daily.

Wang made the comments at the 2018 Global AI Product Application Expo in Suzhou held earlier this month.

Wang added that, as of the end of 2017, AI firms in China numbered over 2000, with over 100 of such businesses in Jiangsu, Beijing, Guangdong, Zhejiang and Shanghai.

Coolpad Sues Xiaomi for Patent Infringement, Requests Halt to Mix2 Production

Coolpad announced earlier this month that it is suing Xiaomi for infringing its patent rights in several of its mobile phone models, requesting that it halts sales of the Xiaomi Mix2 and other phone models, and compensate it for economic losses, according to Chinese news site TechWeb.

This is not the first time that Coolpad has sued Xiaomi for patent infringement. At the beginning of this year, Coolpad stated that it was suing Xiaomi and three other manufacturers for manufacturing, promising for sale and selling products which infringed three of Coolpad's invention patents, which it claimed caused it serious economic losses. After Xiaomi filed its application to launch its IPO in Hong Kong, Coolpad stated that Xiaomi had continued to infringe the patent after receiving notice of the lawsuit.

Guangdong Beats Out Beijing and Shanghai in Patent Environment Ranking: Report

The Patent Management Division and the Intellectual Property Development Research Center of the State Intellectual Property Office jointly published a report on the state of patent protection strength in China. It is the seventh report to have been published.

The report analyzed China's provinces, autonomous regions and direct-controlled municipalities in terms of patent creativity, patent monetization, patent enforcement, patent management and patent services. The top ten were Guangdong, Beijing, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Shandong, Sichuan, Shanghai, Fujian, Anhui and Hubei.

China Saw 4,150 Geographical Indication Trademark Registrations

China has 4,150 registered geographical indication trademarks as of April of 2018, according to a recent trademark promotional event held in China’s South Central Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region

National trademark authorities have dealt with 744 geographical indication trademark infringement cases since 2009, worth approximately 8.84 million yuan ($1.39 million).

ZenFone Go, ZenFone 2 Laser Infringe Patents

Japanese chemical engineering firm Nichia has filed a patent infringement suit at the Tokyo District Court against the Japanese subsidiary of Taiwanese computer firm Asus, Asus Japan, and its distributor Synnex Infotec.

Nichia requested damages for Asus' ZenFone Go and ZenFone 2 Laser, which both have a white LED flash, which Nichia assert falls within the scope of their white LED patent (patent 5177317 and 5610056).

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