CIMC wins legal battle

In-Depth 1 Jun 2015 by WCN Editorial

The APC rack referred to on page one of this issue is an important factor in the cost of getting Chinese 53ft containers into the US.

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Initially these containers were shipped on chartered breakbulk vessels, at a cost of up to US$1,000 each. Using the racks to load them on regular container services, US container owners have been able to get their boxes to the US West Coast full of import cargo and actually earn revenue on delivery.

It is not known how the case will affect QPCL’s 53ft container business. There are around 600-700 APC racks in service, of which CIMC believes around 200 units were supplied by QPCL. The China Supreme Court has ordered QPCL to cease producing its version and to compensate CIMC for economic losses.

For CIMC, the case is important recognition of the value of the patent process. It spends RMB4M-5M per year on patent applications and maintenance fees for over 3,500 patents, 1,600 of which relate to container technology. “As a leader of container industry, CIMC always pays attention to intellectual property,” said Wang Yu, general manager, legal affairs at CIMC. “The main purpose,” he added, is to “construct an environment of good market competition to advocate the respect of technical progress and intellectual property and to promote the healthy development of the container industry”.

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This complete item is approximately 300 words in length, and appeared in the June 2015 issue of WorldCargo News, on page 18. To access this issue download the PDF here.