Enterprise Response and Defense Strategy for IP Infringement Claims

Enterprises may face IP infringement litigation in the course of business. Active response and reasonable defense are key to reducing losses. Failure to respond may result in default judgment and high damages.

1. Response After Receiving Infringement Notice

Upon receiving a lawyer's letter or court summons: ① do not panic, immediately assess infringement risk; ② engage a professional IP lawyer; ③ preserve accused infringing products and related evidence (purchase records, sales data, procurement vouchers); ④ analyze plaintiff's rights basis (patent validity, trademark registration, copyright ownership); ⑤ assess infringement comparison results (technical feature comparison, trademark similarity judgment, work substantial similarity analysis). Submit defense and evidence within the defense period.

2. Common Defense Grounds

Patent infringement defenses: non-infringement (technical features not fully covered), prior art defense, exhaustion of rights defense, prior use defense, patent invalidation declaration (filed with CNIPA, may stay litigation). Trademark infringement defenses: non-identical/non-similar defense, fair use defense, prior use defense, legitimate source defense (for sellers), trademark invalidation. Copyright infringement defenses: independent creation defense, idea-expression dichotomy, fair use defense, statutory license defense.

3. Evidence Preparation Essentials

Evidence defendants should prepare: technical descriptions/design drawings of accused infringing products, product source evidence (supplier contracts, invoices, authorization letters), prior use evidence (sales records, advertising, public use proof), prior art/prior design evidence (patent literature, publications, public use evidence), plaintiff's rights defect evidence (patent invalidation evidence, trademark preemptive registration evidence). Evidence must be submitted within the evidence submission period.

4. Settlement and Mediation Strategy

IP litigation is lengthy and costly; settlement is a common resolution method. Settlement strategy: assess win probability and potential damages; consider commercial interests (whether continued use of technology/brand is needed); consider cross-licensing, patent licensing, trademark coexistence, etc.; settlement agreement must clearly specify scope, amount, payment method, confidentiality obligations, and non-prosecution clauses. Conducting settlement negotiations under lawyer guidance to avoid unfavorable terms is recommended.