5 ms·

Would/could/do Chinese manufacturers ignore those patents? Are they not able to sell abroad if they do?

jfim 8y ago
Importers would likely get their shipments seized. It's not illegal for manufacturers to export their goods out of China, but US customs doesn't look too highly on importing goods that contravene on registered US IP. Small time shipments are unlikely to be looked at (eg. if someone buys a single electronic ink display off of AliExpress), but someone actually importing many displays for resale would likely eventually get caught.
- dev_dull 8y ago
  Honestly how would you even know if the e-ink displays infringe on IP? I can’t imagine them doing anything.
  - colordrops 8y ago
    Enough market/distribution and either the patent owner or a patent troll will find out.
  - extrapickles 8y ago
    A patent gives you a monopoly which makes things easy. You occasionally search the market for products that contain your tech (in this case eink), then look in your records to see if they bought/licensed from you.
    - billfruit 8y ago
      But is it that infringement can be proven only by a court? So can US customs do any thing in such cases, even if we assume they have the competency to judge if a particular import violates IP.
      - toast0 8y ago
        They file a case, and ask for a preliminary injunction. And once that's granted (which is likely), they take that order to customs, and customs will start looking for those devices in shipments from your supplier or to you.
luka-birsa 8y ago
Nobody in their right mind would invest 100M in a production line that is likely to be shut down.
- contingencies 8y ago
  Usually you don't have to buy the line, you order sub-assemblies from different suppliers and do final assembly.
userbinator 8y ago
I think there are already some which do --- we just don't hear about them much because they tend to be fairly anonymous (for good reason). I remember reading about "fake" Kindle replacement displays showing up on eBay a while ago, not as good as the real thing in terms of image quality etc. but certainly usable, so someone is clearly making them...
captainmuon 8y ago
It's a common misconception that there is no IP law in China. Patents do exist, and you do have to respect them (at least if it is a chinese patent or you intend to sell into the patent's country). Of course, as with many things there, enforcement is spotty, so you might get away with it for a while. But the days are over where you could completely fly under the radar with a grey market production. It's hard to completely hide your big ass illegal factory in Shenzhen, especially when you have to register every little thing with the state. As in every other country, your competitors or patent owners can just get a lawyer, look up your address, and sue you. Granted, I do understand that from the perspective of a western entrepreneur trying to do business in China it seems to be a lawless space, especially if you've been burnt by fake products from Alibaba etc..
fooker 8y ago
Considering that you can buy 5$-20$ E ink panels on Alixpress today, I would guess those manufacturers do ignore western patents.

jfim 8y ago

Importers would likely get their shipments seized. It's not illegal for manufacturers to export their goods out of China, but US customs doesn't look too highly on importing goods that contravene on registered US IP. Small time shipments are unlikely to be looked at (eg. if someone buys a single electronic ink display off of AliExpress), but someone actually importing many displays for resale would likely eventually get caught.

dev_dull 8y ago
Honestly how would you even know if the e-ink displays infringe on IP? I can’t imagine them doing anything.
- colordrops 8y ago
  Enough market/distribution and either the patent owner or a patent troll will find out.
- extrapickles 8y ago
  A patent gives you a monopoly which makes things easy. You occasionally search the market for products that contain your tech (in this case eink), then look in your records to see if they bought/licensed from you.
  - billfruit 8y ago
    But is it that infringement can be proven only by a court? So can US customs do any thing in such cases, even if we assume they have the competency to judge if a particular import violates IP.
    - toast0 8y ago
      They file a case, and ask for a preliminary injunction. And once that's granted (which is likely), they take that order to customs, and customs will start looking for those devices in shipments from your supplier or to you.

luka-birsa 8y ago

Nobody in their right mind would invest 100M in a production line that is likely to be shut down.

contingencies 8y ago
Usually you don't have to buy the line, you order sub-assemblies from different suppliers and do final assembly.

userbinator 8y ago

I think there are already some which do --- we just don't hear about them much because they tend to be fairly anonymous (for good reason). I remember reading about "fake" Kindle replacement displays showing up on eBay a while ago, not as good as the real thing in terms of image quality etc. but certainly usable, so someone is clearly making them...

captainmuon 8y ago

It's a common misconception that there is no IP law in China. Patents do exist, and you do have to respect them (at least if it is a chinese patent or you intend to sell into the patent's country). Of course, as with many things there, enforcement is spotty, so you might get away with it for a while. But the days are over where you could completely fly under the radar with a grey market production. It's hard to completely hide your big ass illegal factory in Shenzhen, especially when you have to register every little thing with the state. As in every other country, your competitors or patent owners can just get a lawyer, look up your address, and sue you. Granted, I do understand that from the perspective of a western entrepreneur trying to do business in China it seems to be a lawless space, especially if you've been burnt by fake products from Alibaba etc..

fooker 8y ago

Considering that you can buy 5$-20$ E ink panels on Alixpress today, I would guess those manufacturers do ignore western patents.