Taiwanese companies are facing an increasing number of patent lawsuits in the United States. According to the Legislative Yuan (the Taiwanese Congress), between 2005 and July 2017, there were around 607 US patent litigations brought against Taiwanese companies. On the other hand, there were only 10 US patent litigations/counter litigations brought by Taiwanese corporations.
Once lawsuits are filed and guilty rulings are made, the expensive legal fees and compensations that entail would definitely significantly wear down the hard-earned profits of a corporation. In order to avoid stumbling upon any patent lawsuit landmines i the future, costs on research & development would also sky rocket.
When Foxconn invested in SHARP back then, they discovered that SHARP had 3.1 billion in "contingent liabilities" in the final stages of investment. These contingent liabilities included antitrust litigation fines and intellectual property lawsuits in Europe and America, as well as patent lawsuits and pending possible compensations to competitors. This shows how patent litigations and license fees drastically impact the operation of a company.
Statistics show that between 2005 and July 2017, the top three industries in which Taiwanese companies were sued for patent infringement were the computer industry (205 cases), followed by the cellphone industry (146 cases) and the communications and internet industry (91 cases). Apparently, this also has a lot to do with the recent development trends of the global industry.
However, Taiwanese companies have only filed 10 counterclaims and/or lawsuits i the US. This goes to show that Taiwanese companies have yet to make active attempts in protecting their own intellectual property.
Comments