Original title: AVIC lithium battery “fights” Ningde era has filed a lawsuit for invalidation of the patent
Our reporter Li Ting
On August 2, the official WeChat account of AVIC Lithium Battery issued a statement confirming that it had received two “Civil Complaints” from the Fuzhou Intermediate People’s Court regarding Ningde Times’s lawsuit against the company. It also stated that it had submitted the above two to the State Intellectual Property Office on the same day. A request for invalidation of a litigated patent.
Since the incident was exposed on July 21, the relevant person of CATL replied to the reporter of “Securities Daily” on the same day that the company had filed an indictment on the patent infringement case of AVIC lithium battery and the case has been accepted. The patents involved in this case involve inventions and utility model patents. The suspected infringing batteries have been installed in tens of thousands of cars.
An anonymous lawyer told a reporter from the Securities Daily that, according to the Supreme People’s Court’s provisions on applicable legal issues in the trial of patent dispute cases, “For patent infringement cases, the defendant requested the plaintiff’s patent rights to be invalidated during the defense period. You can request the people’s court to suspend the infringement litigation.” This means that after AVIC Lithium has filed a patent invalidation request, it may apply to the court to suspend the trial of the patent infringement litigation.
However, some people in the industry believe that if patent litigation does involve patent infringement of the company’s core business, AVIC Lithium Battery’s IPO process will be affected.
AVIC Lithium Battery stated in its latest statement that since the case has entered the litigation process, the specific content will not be disclosed, and the company will respond to the suit in accordance with legal procedures and is not afraid of challenges. The company emphasizes that as one of the earliest enterprises in my country to enter the field of lithium battery research and manufacturing, AVIC Lithium has accumulated a large number of technologies with independent intellectual property rights and carried out a comprehensive intellectual property layout.
Public information shows that the battery capacity of AVIC Lithium Battery in 2021 has been mass-produced, under construction and started to exceed 100GWh. In addition, the company’s planned production capacity in 2025 has been increased to 300GWh, an increase of 50% from the previous planned target. At present, AVIC Lithium Battery is the only unlisted company among the TOP5 companies with installed capacity of new energy vehicle power batteries in China. In June of this year, it was reported that AVIC Lithium Battery plans to conduct an IPO next year.
Data shows that AVIC lithium battery has developed rapidly in recent years. In the first half of this year, the company’s installed capacity increased by 332.05% year-on-year, and its market share rose to 6.9%. It has jumped from sixth in the industry in 2019 to fourth in the industry, ranking only in the Leningde era. , BYD, LG Chem.
On July 21, after the news of Ningde Times sued AVIC lithium battery patent infringement, it was reported that the scope of the suspected infringement products covered “all products”, which means that once the infringement is confirmed, all AVIC lithium battery products may It will be banned for sale and has a huge impact.
Regarding the patent dispute, some industry insiders analyzed in an interview with a reporter from the Securities Daily that the patent litigation initiated by CATL reflects the current fierce competition in the lithium battery industry, and the rise of the “second-tier” battery factory is also The market share of the industry giants is grabbing.
Mo Ke, the chief analyst of True Lithium Research, told a reporter from the Securities Daily that the current public information is limited, and it is temporarily impossible to determine the right and wrong of the patent infringement dispute and how it will affect it. But generally speaking, patent infringement lawsuits will be a protracted battle, and AVIC lithium battery, which has already proposed an IPO plan, may indeed have a certain negative impact, thereby dragging down the IPO process.
Regarding the latest statement of AVIC Lithium Battery, a reporter from “Securities Daily” called Ningde Times, but the relevant person in charge did not comment.
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