中國手機制造商能否跨越知識產(chǎn)權(quán)障礙成功扎根海外?
????印度德里高等法院下達針對中國智能手機新貴小米公司(Xiaomi)的一項禁令,這則消息提醒了我們,中國智能手機制造商還有多長的路要走。不過,這并不意味著中國手機無法成長為國際品牌。 ????瑞典電訊巨頭愛立信(Ericsson)在印度將小米告上法庭,理由是小米使用了愛立信的無線科技專利卻沒有支付專利費。法院方面已經(jīng)通過了愛立信提交的申請,并宣布在明年二月開庭審理之前禁止小米在印度銷售和進口智能手機。 ????愛立信發(fā)言人在一份聲明中表示,“愛立信一直致力于全球范圍內(nèi)的科技發(fā)展和創(chuàng)新,這一點是毫無爭議的。小米使用了我們大量的科研成果,卻沒有支付合理的技術(shù)授權(quán)費用,這是不公平的?!?/p> ????小米手機在印度的發(fā)展勢頭如火如荼。10月份時該公司曾宣稱,在一次網(wǎng)上限時搶購活動中,開售僅4秒鐘就有4萬臺手機售出。12月12日,小米全球副總裁雨果?巴拉在社交網(wǎng)站Google+上表示,就在禁令下達時,公司通過電子商務網(wǎng)站Flipkart收到了15萬份紅米Note手機的訂購單。 ????雖然小米的發(fā)展勢頭被暫時遏止,但并不意味著就此偃旗息鼓。專利糾紛在智能手機業(yè)內(nèi)相當常見,和新款手機的熱門配置一樣層出不窮。蘋果(Apple)和三星(Samsung)的訴訟史就是其中一例,這兩大巨頭在決定停戰(zhàn)前也曾多次向?qū)Ψ桨l(fā)出禁令。愛立信指出,三年來它一直要求小米對GSM、EDGE、UMTS/WCDMA標準產(chǎn)品的標準核心專利(將手機連接無線設(shè)備的關(guān)鍵專利)方面的侵權(quán)活動進行賠償,但對方從未回應。小米公司的一位女性發(fā)言人拒絕就此發(fā)表任何看法。 ????“小米要迅速設(shè)法撤銷這一禁令,才能維護它在印度的品牌形象,” 市場研究公司Canalys的分析師拉沙布?多什在一封電子郵件中寫道。根據(jù)Canalys的資料,第三季度已有近34萬臺小米手機運到了印度。 ????雙方有希望迅速達成和解。一家中國官方報紙上周報道稱,小米在國內(nèi)僅擁有12項授權(quán)專利,它并不想與愛立信對簿公堂,這位智能手機后起之秀希望保持它在印度的發(fā)展勢頭。 ????如果小米愿意,它能夠迅速讓法院撤銷這項禁令,比如將印度銷售的手機收入分一部分給愛立信。不過,此舉將減少小米的經(jīng)營利潤率,讓這款在印度售價僅96美元的手機利潤進一步壓低,但這樣小米至少還能繼續(xù)其銷售業(yè)務。根據(jù)小米宣布的計劃,明年小米將進軍巴西和墨西哥市場,小米將擴展專利組合和研發(fā)范圍,從而在今后的專利糾紛中獲得更多的議價能力。 |
????News that India’s High Court of Delhi issued an injunction against Chinese smartphone upstart Xiaomi was a reminder of how much Chinese smartphone makers still have to grow. It was not, however, an indication that the Chinese can’t grow into international brands. ????The Swedish telecom giant Ericsson filed suit in India complaining that Xiaomi did not pay royalties on its wireless technology patents. The court agreed and instructed Xiaomi to stop selling and importing in the country until February, when the court hears the case. ????“Ericsson’s commitment to the global support of technology and innovation is undisputed. It is unfair for Xiaomi to benefit from our substantial R&D investment without paying a reasonable licensee fee for our technology,” Ericsson said in a statement. ????Xiaomi had been on a roll in India. In October Xiaomi said it sold 40,000 phones in just four seconds in an online flash sale. Hugo Barra, vice president of Xiaomi global, said in a posting on Google Plus today the company had 150,000 registrations for its Redmi Note on the e-commerce site Flipkart just as the injunction came down. ????That momentum is halted for now, but not quashed. Patent disputes in the smartphone industry are as common as hot specs on a new phone. The litigious history of Apple and Samsung, which included injunctions before the two sides agreed to a ceasefire, is but one example. According to Ericsson, Xiaomi had been unresponsive during three years of attempts by the Swedish company to get compensation for its standard essential patents (those essential in connecting a phone to a wireless standard) for GSM, EDGE, and UMTS/WCDMA standards. A Xiaomi spokeswoman did not respond to a request for comment. ????“Xiaomi needs to act fast to reverse the injunction to protect its brand image in the country,” Canalys analyst Rushabh Doshi said in an email. According to Canalys, Xiaomi shipped close to 340,000 units to India in the third quarter. ????A quick settlement is likely. Xiaomi doesn’t want to face Ericsson in court—a state-run Chinese newspaper reported last week Xiaomi only holds 12 authorized patents in China—and the smartphone newcomer wants to continue its early momentum in India. ????Xiaomi can end an injunction quickly enough if it chooses. It can offer Ericsson a percentage of every device it sells in India. That will crimp operating margins, already slim on Xiaomi’s smartphones that sell for as low as $96 in the country, but allow Xiaomi to keep selling. By the time Xiaomi expands to Brazil and Mexico next year, as it has previously said it intends to, its patent portfolio and R&D could be expanded to give it more bargaining power in future patent lawsuits. |
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