“Science and Technology Innovation Board Daily”, May 28 (Reporter Yu Jiaxin) Today, Zhuhai Guanyu announced that the company and its wholly-owned subsidiary Chongqing Guanyu recently received the “Notice of Acceptance of the Case” and other relevant materials delivered by the Chongqing First Intermediate People's Court regarding the company and Chongqing Guanyu suing Ningde New Energy Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Defendant 1 ATL) and other defendants for patent infringement.

Zhuhai Guanyu announced that the company, as the patentee of the patent in question, produced and sold products related to the patent in question without the company's permission, and that the other defendants sold and promised to sell products related to the patent in question, suspected of infringing on the company's patent rights. In the five cases mentioned above, the compensation amounts claimed were 10.5 million yuan, 10.5 million yuan, 11 million yuan, 11 million yuan, and 10.5 million yuan, respectively, for a total of 53.5 million yuan.

“Since the lawsuit involving this announcement has not yet been tried, the final judgment is uncertain, and it is currently impossible to predict the impact on the company's current and post-term profit and loss. The final actual impact is subject to the court's effective judgment.” Zhuhai Guanyu said.

On the same day, the company announced that it had received a “Civil Ruling” issued by the Fujian Provincial High People's Court. According to the ruling, the court ruled to allow ATL to withdraw the lawsuit, and the filing fee for the case was reduced by half and borne by ATL. The “Science and Technology Innovation Board Daily” reporter learned by checking the official website of the State Intellectual Property Office that the patent name ZL201420030319.4 withdrawn by ATL this time is “lithium-ion battery,” and the status of the case is “terminated and expired at the end of the term.”

Zhuhai Guanyu said that as of the disclosure date of this announcement, 9 ATL patents have been declared invalid by the State Intellectual Property Office or court decisions in patent disputes between the company, Ningde New Energy Technology Co., Ltd., and Dongguan New Energy Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “ATL”), and 8 cases have been voluntarily withdrawn by ATL (of which 5 ATL patents have all been declared invalid by the State Intellectual Property Office).

Regarding the above matters, Liu Zongkun, director of Zhuhai Guanyu, told the “Science and Technology Innovation Board Daily” reporter, “Other than the content of the announcement, no further information has been shared.”

According to information, the patent dispute between Zhuhai Guanyu and ATL has been going on for a long time. According to public information, Zhuhai Guanyu was involved in a patent dispute with ATL long before its IPO. According to an inquiry on patent number information that has been disclosed so far, the “Science and Technology Innovation Board Daily” reporter noticed that the patent names involved in ATL and Zhuhai Guanyu include products such as batteries, electrolytes, electrochemical devices, and batteries.

However, industry insiders said that overall, patent litigation cases take a long time. Sun Yuhao, a member of the Young Lawyers Working Committee of the Shanghai Lawyers Association and senior partner of Shanghai Haihua Yongtai Law Firm, analyzed to the “Science and Technology Innovation Board Daily” reporter that patent lawsuits generally have to go through processes such as prosecution, defense, exchange of evidence, trial, judgment, appeal, retrial (or some), and enforcement. According to relevant laws and regulations, where a people's court applies ordinary procedures to adjudicate a patent litigation case, the trial shall be completed within six months from the date the case is filed. However, if approved by a higher level people's court, it can be extended for six months.

“However, in judicial practice, patent litigation cases take quite a long time. Defendants may seek time to seek other defense methods by countersuing the invalidity of the other party's patent, and may also file an appeal after the first instance verdict. The whole process may take several years, and may have a certain impact on the daily operations of both parties to the enterprise.” That's what Sun Yuhao said.