In a China Daily article by Zhang Zhao, Babygood Group is complaining about the difficulties Chinese companies face when they try to enforce their intellectual property rights in the United States.
Wei Yaochang, manager of Goodbaby’s legal office was quoted saying:
“Infringement in the US may be enough to cause a company to go bankrupt.”
Therefore the Babygood Group sued Mattel in China. It nearly always is preferable to sue in your own jurisdiction: you have more expertise there than your counterpart, and courts do not discriminate upon an indigenous company.
Timeline
- 1997: Babygood Group is a Jiangsu province that got a patent for a baby stroller with three wheels.
- 2006: Babygood Group saw that Mattel had something similar in the United States.
- 2007: Babygood Group found that Mattel also sold the tricycle in Chinese cities, including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Nanjing.
- 2008: Babygood Group sued Mattel in Nanjing and won in nine trial.
- 2011: Beijing High People’s Court made a final verdict in May 2011, ruling that Mattel infringed on Goodbaby’s patent and must pay 1.5 million yuan ($232,950) in compensation to the patent owner.
Read the China Daily article here.