Chinese enterprises execute IP prowess in global market

At the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, smart phones like Mate 9, Honor 6X and other patented new products were on show for the first time, relying on its patent advantage, Huawei launched 5G mobile technology cooperation with British Telecom, and joined alliance with the United States International Data Group... At the beginning of the new year, Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Huawei) has caught wide attention from the industry.

“In recent years, what makes Huawei rise rapidly and become one of the leading companies in telecommunication industry is the using of intellectual property,” Song Liuping, vice president of Huawei said. Latest data shows that by the end of 2016, Huawei obtained domestic and overseas patents of more than 55,000, among which over 90% were invention patents; the number of granted invention patent in 2016 was up to 2,690, with a year-on-year increase of 11.5%. It continuously ranks among the top three on the ranking list of annual Chinese invention patent grants for mainland enterprises. Recently, the World Intellectual Property Organization released the latest report, which showed that among the enterprises of the world submitting the international application through the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), Huawei has been ranking the top for many years.

“Intellectual property is closely related to a company’s market competition, development and the global layout. Owning a large number of high-quality patents is the inevitable choice to adapt to the ‘jungle rule’ of international competition.” Song Liuping said Huawei’s “going out” strategy started from 20 years ago. Despite of the number of patent infringement of the affairs the company has ascending, Huawei hasn't been knocked down. On the contrary, it has been becoming more and more powerful and confident. Huawei has been proved to be a banner of the Chinese enterprises “going out”.

Coincidentally, with patent advantages ZTE has won the “337 Investigation” for 8 times in 6 years, during the disputes filed by its foreign competitors, a new record of Chinese enterprises.

According to Cao Xinming, Executive deputy director of Intellectual Property Research Center, Zhongnan University of Economics and Law, a company will be in greater demand for intellectual property rights as it is getting involved in global and domestic market competition. And it is true that Chinese enterprises successfully “going out” are those with comparative advantages in intellectual property rights. For Haier Group, as the leader of China’s household electrical appliance enterprises, with the quality and quantity of intellectual property increased year by year, it opened the market in Europe and the United States, won a good profit.

Last year, Huawei has offered licenses on 769 patents to Apple, Huawei has received a substantial number of patent licensing fees, becoming the first of Chinese enterprises. In 2016, Huawei has achieved the sales revenue of 520 billion yuan with the annual increase rate up to 33%.

“With more and more Chinese enterprises succeeding in going out, more and more Chinese enterprises like Huawei, are stepping on the world stage with the advantage of intellectual property rights, and IP is playing an increasingly important role in the development of interprises. We hope more and more Chinese enterprises will stand in the forefront of international industrial competition,” Cao Xinming said.