When Plaintiffs Win in Chinese Patent Cases, Injunction Grant Rates Are High, Regardless of Party Nationality

RPX data show that Chinese courts consistently grant permanent injunctions in patent infringement cases at a much higher rate—upwards of 90%—than US patent plaintiffs are used to seeing. Moreover, those rates are high for both foreign and domestic parties.

In closed patent infringement cases decided on the merits from January 2015 through August 2019, permanent injunctions were granted 93% of the time where both parties were Chinese. In litigation filed by foreign plaintiffs against domestic defendants (“Foreign Plaintiff” in the graph below), that number reaches 94%. For cases filed by domestic plaintiffs against foreign defendants (“Foreign Defendant” below), the grant rate was 97%. The injunction rate was similarly high in prior periods, including cases closed in 2011-2014 and in 2006-2010. However, questions remain as to whether injunctions are enforced against Chinese companies as often as they are against their foreign counterparts, despite the similarity in grant rates between the two.

Chinese injunctions are particularly powerful because they can be used to prevent exports out of China. This gives plaintiffs significant leverage against defendants with China-dependent supply chains, as an injunction may disrupt a company’s ability to ship China-manufactured products, or critical components, out of the country.

Chinese courts have become an increasingly popular venue for patent litigation, and a key to assessing patent risk in China is understanding the differences between the Chinese and US patent systems. For a detailed overview of those differences, see RPX’s blog post: “Chinese Patent Litigation: A Comparative Overview”.

Why RPX?

At RPX, we believe that the best defense is a good offense. That’s why since our inception in 2008, we’ve purchased rights to over 47,800 patent assets to mitigate patent risk for our members. As one of the most active participants in the patent market, RPX has compiled proprietary data on thousands of litigations and patent transactions. With RPX, companies have access to reliable information about the patent market, helping them to better understand this constantly changing landscape. Through our data and research on patent litigation and the patent marketplace, we’re able to provide our members with the most complete view of the current picture.

As the patent litigation landscape continues to change, RPX will keep innovating and staying ahead of the future risks our members face. Contact us today to find out how RPX can help your company manage patent risk at every level.