Introduction to the case

In July 2018, the Shanghai Intellectual Property Administration received a complaint transferred by a provincial intellectual property rights protection assistance center, which revealed that a Shanghai bearing manufacturing company (hereinafter referred to as "the respondent") was suspected of selling fake patent products online. The law enforcement officer found out that the patent displayed by the respondent online had been terminated due to unpaid annual fees. After on-site inspection, the law enforcement officer found that three types of bearing products of the respondent (large, medium and small) were marked with six patent numbers on the packing boxes, among which five patents (the patentee was the respondent) were terminated due to unpaid annual fees, and one patent application was not authorized (the patent applicant was the respondent).

According to the Shanghai Intellectual Property Administration, based on the illegalities that had been found, the act of the respondent continuing to use a patent mark after the termination of the patent right and a patent mark that had not been authorized constitutes a fake patent case. Taking into account the consequences of the illegal acts, and the rectification of subjective fault and regret of the respondent, the Shanghai Intellectual Property Administration made the following punishment decision in August 2018:

1. Immediately remove all internet advertisements involving invalid patents.

2. Immediately stop the marking of invalid patent numbers and remove the patent mark on unsold product packing boxes. If the patent mark on the boxes is difficult to remove, destroy the boxes.

3. Confiscate illegal earnings and impose a fine of 184,460 yuan ($26,000).

The respondent has no objection to the punishment decision and has fulfilled it as scheduled.

Typical significance

The case is the largest administrative penalty ever imposed by the Shanghai Intellectual Property Administration for counterfeiting patents. In this case, after receiving the complaint materials, the law enforcement department did not stop at investigating the online sales of counterfeit patent products, but went offline for law enforcement and inspection, thus discovering a larger scope and a more serious counterfeit patent behavior. The case was investigated and dealt with in accordance with the law, which reflected the initiative of the Shanghai Intellectual Property Administration in cracking down on counterfeit patents and brought into play the synergistic effect of online and offline patent enforcement and protection. (provided by Shanghai Intellectual Property Administration)