Core Technology Counterfeited, Orders Plunge by 40%

An electronic component manufacturing enterprise is experiencing the most severe survival crisis since its establishment. The chip packaging technology independently developed by the enterprise over many years has been maliciously counterfeited by competitors – counterfeit products have frantically seized the market with low-price strategies, leading to a sharp 40% drop in the enterprise's order volume in a short period of time.

More critically, the technology was backed by R&D costs of 2 million yuan invested in the early stage. If infringement cannot be effectively curbed, not only will the technological achievements be lost, but the market share and customer trust accumulated by the enterprise over the years will also be eroded away. This is an intellectual property defense battle that concerns the survival of the enterprise.

Fixing Infringement Evidence Within 72 Hours

Upon receiving the entrustment, the intellectual property team of our firm immediately activated the emergency response mechanism. The team established a three-step strategy of "Evidence First, Litigation Follow-up, System Upgrade", with the first battle focusing on evidence fixation.

72-Hour Evidence Collection Blitz

• Purchasing Infringing Products：Arranged special personnel to purchase counterfeit products as ordinary consumers and preserve purchase vouchers
• Technical Disassembly and Comparison：Disassembled and analyzed the infringing products and the enterprise's own technology to fix evidence of technical similarity
• Notarization of Sales Data：Notarized and preserved the infringer's online sales pages and offline sales records
• Sorting Out R&D Records：Systematically sorted out the enterprise's original R&D records, experimental data and technical documents to prove the originality of the technology

Within 72 hours, a complete chain of evidence was initially formed, laying a solid foundation for subsequent litigation.

Expert Report Debunks "Prior Art Defense"

During the litigation process, the infringer put forward a "prior art defense" – claiming that the technology had long existed and did not belong to the enterprise's original creation. If this defense is established, the foundation of the enterprise's rights protection will be shaken.

Joint Experts Issue "Technical Comparison Report"

Our firm's team quickly joined hands with authoritative technical experts in the industry to jointly issue the "Technical Comparison Report":

• Decomposition of Technical Features：Disassembled the enterprise's technology and the accused infringing technology into technical feature points one by one
• Prior Art Retrieval：Comprehensively retrieved public technical documents and patents in related fields
• Innovation Demonstration：Proved that the enterprise's technology has significant innovation in multiple key features and does not belong to prior art

This report became key evidence in court, effectively refuting the opponent's defense claim.

1.8 Million Yuan Compensation + Public Apology via Newspaper

In the face of conclusive evidence and professional technical analysis, the court finally made a judgment in favor of the enterprise:

• Cease Infringement：Ordered the infringer to immediately stop producing and selling infringing products
• Punitive Compensation：Supported the enterprise's claim for punitive damages and ordered compensation for economic losses of 1.8 million yuan
• Eliminate Negative Impact：Ordered the infringer to publish an apology in designated media to eliminate the negative impact on the enterprise's goodwill

This judgment not only made the infringer pay a heavy price, but also sent a clear signal to the entire industry that "technology shall not be infringed".

From Emergency Rights Protection to Long-term Protection

During the handling of the case, our firm's team did not stop at litigation victory. The team simultaneously assisted the enterprise in building a long-term intellectual property protection system at the institutional level:

Confidentiality Mechanism for the Entire R&D Process

• Confidentiality at Project Initiation：Sign a confidentiality agreement upon the launch of R&D projects
• Process Control：Retain R&D records at key nodes to ensure traceability
• Right Confirmation of Achievements：Timely apply for patents to convert technical achievements into legal rights

6 New Patent Applications Filed

Taking advantage of the rights protection, the team assisted the enterprise in comprehensively sorting out relevant technologies and filed 6 new patent applications, forming a portfolio of technical patents to enhance the overall protection intensity.

Non-compete Restrictions for Core Technical Personnel

Signed non-compete agreements with core technical personnel, clarifying post-resignation non-compete obligations and compensation standards to prevent core technologies from leaking through talent flow.

From "Rights Protection Cost" to "Survival Value"

After the case was closed, the person in charge of the enterprise said with deep feeling: "This rights protection not only recovered economic losses, but also made the entire team realize that for small and medium-sized enterprises, intellectual property is not an optional legal document, but a core asset related to survival."

This cognitive shift may be of more long-term value than the 1.8 million yuan compensation.

Orders Recover to the Same Period Level

Under the dual effects of successful rights protection and system upgrading, the enterprise quickly regained lost ground:

• Regaining Market Share：Infringing products were driven out of the market, and customers returned one after another
• Full Recovery of Orders：By the end of the year, the order volume had recovered to the level of the same period last year
• Increased Confidence in Development：The improvement of the technology protection mechanism has given the enterprise the courage to invest in a new round of R&D