Companies need to apportion generous budgets to proactively protect their intellectual property, as their investment will later prove to be money well spent, IP experts said.
Beijing-based Feitian Technologies, a global provider of cybersecurity products and solutions, learned the hard way just how important protecting IP is for a tech company.
Back in 2005, Feitian was sued by a Nasdaq-listed Israeli company for alleged patent infringement in the United States, just as Feitian was on the verge of winning a bid both of them were fighting for. The bid was for a contract worth tens of millions of dollars, said Si Yanling, deputy head of IP at Feitian.
In 2009, Feitian fought back by suing the company in China. At the time Feitian had 247 patents, 188 more than the Israeli company, which was then much more conciliatory.
In 2010, the two parties reached a global patent cross-licensing settlement, with a full recognition of each other's IP rights, a result utterly unimaginable five years ago, Si said.
Since the lawsuit, IP has become business-critical at Feitian, which has built an in-house IP team and started a weekly meeting to discuss how to patent research results. As of June, Feitian had owned more than 1,200 patents, according to the company.
"IP is an important intangible asset," the company said. "Companies should take action early on because competitors tend to use IP as a weapon when competition heats up."
Source: China Daily
