SHIMANO
INC. Wins the Retrial Case for Patent Infringement
Chinese
patent No. ZL94119343.8 named "FRONT DERAILLEUR APPARATUS OF A BICYCLE"
is a patent for invention owned by SHIMANO INC..
In 2003, SHIMANO INC. found, having conducted an investigation, that
some of the products manufactured and sold by Chinese company A and
Chinese company B had constituted infringement upon the above patent
for invention. For the protection of both the legal rights of SHIMANO
INC. and the interests of numerous customers, SHIMANO INC. filed a lawsuit
to Ningbo Intermediate People's Court against the above two companies
in 2003. Ningbo Intermediate People's Court made a first instance judgment,
overruling the claims of SHIMANO INC..
In 2004, SHIMANO INC. filed an appeal to Zhejiang High People's Court
for the second instance. Zhejiang High People's Court made a second
instance judgment which again overruled SHIMANO INC.'s claims of the
appeal and upheld the original judgment made by Ningbo Intermediate
People's Court.
In 2006, SHIMANO INC. entrusted CCPIT Patent and Trademark Law Office
to file a request for the retrial of this case with the Supreme People's
Court. The Supreme People's Court then held on August 24, 2007 a hearing
of this case and, on October 16, 2007, issued a decision, ruling that
this case be re-trialed in Zhejiang High People's Court.
On January 24, 2008, a hearing of the retrial was held by Zhejiang High
People's Court. Having gone through the retrial procedures, the Court
rendered a retrial judgment, adjudicating that the accused infringing
product, substantially equivalent to the patented "FRONT DERAILLEUR
APPARATUS OF A BICYCLE" of SHIMANO INC., fall within the protection
scope of said patent, and the acts of the above two companies have constituted
an infringement. The first instance judgment and the second instance
judgment are then revoked, and all the claims of SHIMANO INC. are fully
supported by Zhejiang High People's Court.
With some three years' effort, SHIMANO INC. finally won the case of
patent infringement.
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