ZYIP successfully used the "implied patent license" defense, assisting Rui Company in winning a 15.15 million patent lawsuit and being selected as a typical case.

2025-11-19
I.  Case Introduction

This case is a design patent infringement lawsuit with a subject matter of up to 15.15 million yuan. The plaintiff, Tong Company, accuses our client, Rui Company, of infringing on their "Taxi Video All in One" design patent by manufacturing and selling taxi intelligent terminals. Rui, an intellectual property agent in China, innovatively raised the defense of "patent implied license". The court ultimately fully adopted our viewpoint and determined that the actions of Tong Company constituted implied license, ruling that Rui Company did not constitute infringement. This case has important judicial practice guidance significance due to the successful exploration and application of patent implied license rules, and has been selected as a "2024 Shenzhen Court Intellectual Property Typical Case".


II. Case Details 
1. Customer type/industry
Rui Company, a manufacturer of intelligent terminal equipment, focuses on the research and production of intelligent service terminals for taxis.
 
2. Customer pain points/problem description
(1) Faced with a huge claim of 15.15 million yuan, the enterprise is under immense operational pressure;
(2) The product appearance is the same as the patent involved, and the traditional defense path is difficult to break through;
(3) The product involved has been installed and used on a large scale, and if the lawsuit is lost, it will face production stoppage and significant economic losses;
(4) The lack of clear legal provisions requires innovative legal theory support.
 
3. Solutions and processes
(1) Thoroughly analyze the background of the case and establish a defense path for implied license
The first team conducted in-depth research on the background of the case and found that the patent design involved originated from an industry standard project led by Chongqing Transportation Bureau. Both Tong and Rui companies were participants in the project. Based on this, innovatively propose the defense of "patent implied license".
 
(2) Build a rigorous argumentation system to prove the fault of the rights holder
Through evidence, it is proven that a certain company, knowing that its design scheme would be promoted and used as an industry standard, not only did not make any rights reservation statement, but also concealed the patent application situation, which violates the principle of good faith and trustworthiness.
 
(3) Defend reasonable trust interests and safeguard industry public interests
Emphasizing that as a participant in the project, Rui Company's implementation of patents based on reasonable trust in official standards is legitimate, and the involved terminal has been fully installed and used. If infringement is determined, it will seriously damage industry stability and public interests.
 
4. Results/Data
(1) Full victory: Both the Shenzhen Intermediate People's Court in the first instance and the Guangdong Provincial High People's Court in the second instance have ruled to reject all of the plaintiff's claims against a certain company;
(2) Risk mitigation: Avoiding a huge compensation of 15.15 million yuan and the risk of production stoppage for customers;
(3) Typical case: This case has been selected as a "2024 Shenzhen Court Intellectual Property Typical Case";
(4) Industry impact: Established judgment standards for the handling of similar cases.
 
III. Significance of the case
This case is a benchmark case that emerged victorious through innovative legal principles and principles in a legal void. Not only did it successfully safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of customers, but it also clarified the applicable requirements of the "patent implied license" system through judicial practice, and established the judgment rule that "participation in standard setting and failure to disclose patent information constitutes implied license". This judgment effectively curbed the dishonest rights protection behavior of rights holders in the process of participating in standard setting, such as "releasing water to raise fish and harvesting afterwards", protected the reasonable trust of market participants in government led standards, maintained industry stability and public interests, and has profound significance for creating an honest and fair intellectual property business environment, providing important reference for the handling of similar cases.
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