On
10 April, 2013, Shanghai DuPont Agricultural Chemicals Limited (DuPont) posted
a reward announcement. According to the announcement, anyone offering evidence
of infringement of its patents for its two major products—chlorantraniliprole and
cyantraniliprole—will
receive a reward from DuPont, the maximum reward reaching USD24,270
(RMB150,000) per individual. This reveals that DuPont is fighting infringement
of its patents on a national scale.
In
detail, this reward targets five illegal patent infringement activities:
producing and selling fake pesticides under the name of chlorantraniliprole and
cyantraniliprole; producing and selling chlorantraniliprole and
cyantraniliprole technical (TC); export of the aforementioned products with the
name of other chemical products; adding the aforementioned products as
recessive ingredients to other insecticides; transporting the aforementioned
products.
The
announcement does not limit the type of occupations. Anyone (including farmers)
discovering evidence of these five illegal activities around the country can
call or send a SMS to the hotline of DuPont until 31 May, 2013. The reward
value depends on the effect of evidence and the type of case, with a maximum of
USD24,270, which is attractive enough to stimulate the public to cooperate with
DuPont to crack down on illegal activities and products.
The
patent products of DuPont and other international enterprises has been
suffering patent infringement in China, as counterfeiting of these
patent products and selling other products under their names generates abundant profits.
Chlorantraniliprole and cyantraniliprole are DuPont's core insecticides with
valid patent and intellectual property in China and they are also the targets
of counterfeiting.
The
high profit obtainable and high product awareness have incentivized many
domestic producers to illegally produce chlorantraniliprole products,
disturbing DuPont legal business operation since it introduced
chlorantraniliprole into China in 2008. As revealed by an insider, DuPont
discovers more than 60 cases involving infringements of its chlorantraniliprole
patent in every province in China annually. Of these, adding
chlorantraniliprole or counterfeited chlorantraniliprole into other
insecticides as recessive ingredient is the most frequently discovered type of
chlorantraniliprole patent infringement case.
Besides,
producing chlorantraniliprole TC illegally should not be ignored, as the
illegal production of chlorantraniliprole TC is one source of other illegal
activities of infringement of patents. For instance, one company namely Nantong
Tianye Fine Chemical Co., Ltd. once owned a
chlorantraniliprole TC production line, and sold its chlorantraniliprole
in 18 provinces from 2009 to 2010, with a total sales value of USD5.67 million
(RMB35 million). It is one of the largest patent infringement cases in China's
pesticide industry.
Similarly,
cyantraniliprole, a new insecticide registered by DuPont in Sept. 2012 in
China, is predicted to face this problem in the process of its promotion in the
domestic market. In order to protect legal intellectual property and guarantee
normal business operation of the company, DuPont has to pay attention to
cracking down on illegal activities involving chlorantraniliprole and
cyantraniliprole.
According
to an insider, DuPont mainly uses two methods for cracking down on illegal
activities. Hiring specific operators to investigate illegal activities which
infringe its legal benefits is the major method.
Offering
reward is considered another effective method and a supplement for hiring
specific operators, as the reward announcement can be spread widely, compared
with hiring specific operators. The investigation scale can cover the whole
country using people with different occupations such as farmers and couriers,
if DuPont strengthens the advertising of the reward. DuPont advertises through
specific media, targeting dealers and salesmen in the agrochemical industry.
These advertisement targets can provide more accurate evidence as they are
familiar with the supply and sales channel in their local regions.
Meanwhile,
the reward announcement can also warn infringers. Some infringers who are
afraid of becoming involved in lawsuits will probably stop their infringement
behaviour, which is also the aim of the reward announcement by DuPont.
Obtaining compensation for infringement rights through the court is not
DuPont's original purpose.
The
reward announcement has had a quick achievement. It is reported that an
individual workshop producing counterfeit pesticides with a big output volume
was caught in mid-April 2013 by local officials of Yueyang City, Hunan
Province, with the assistance of DuPont. It is probably a case of
counterfeiting chlorantraniliprole.
Besides
DuPont, another agrochemical giant Syngenta has also taken legal action
to protect its patent rights. It filed a lawsuit with Shanghai First
Intermediate People's Court (Court) against Xiangtan Changsheng Fine Chemicals
Co., Ltd. (Xiangtan Changsheng) for infringement of its thiamethoxam patent.
Syngenta appealed to the Court for an injunction prohibiting Xiangtan
Changsheng from producing, using and selling (including exporting) thiamethoxam
and thiamethoxam derivatives which had infringed its patent; meanwhile,
Syngenta petitioned the Court to destroy all derivatives of thiamethoxam and
thiamethoxam from Xiangtan Changsheng.
Table of Contents of Insecticides China News 1305:
CCPIA
to launch pesticide exhibitions in Ukraine and Myanmar
China's
chlorpyrifos witnesses price rebound in 2013
New
technology reduces 30% production cost of pyrethrin
Consumption
of wheat insecticides in heading stage to decrease this year
Abamectin
and fosthiazate to be mainstream nematicides in China
Emamectin
benzoate + indoxacarb becomes a hotspot
Jiangsu
Huifeng to expand capacity of intermediate of bifenthrin to 2,000t/a
Shandong
Rainbow expands insecticide registrations overseas
DuPont
offers rewards for protecting its patent insecticides
Nanjing
Redsun constructs project of 50,000t/a intermediate for chlorpyrifos
Jiangxi
Tianren acquires USD28.5 million investment from IFC
Nantong
Changqing to launch 1,000t/a acetamiprid TC project
China's
dimethoate export volume & value soared in 2012
Price
Update Table
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