Improved enforcement of IP laws in China encourages world—class technologies

International technology and manufacturing company INVISTA recently resolved another intellectual property （IP） arbitration against a Chinese company for misuse of INVISTAs confidential and proprietary purified terephthalic acid （PTA） technology.

“The resolution is encouraging because protecting our intellectual property is not just about us； its about protecting our customers investments and allowing them to maintain their competitive advantage，” said Mike Pickens， president， INVISTA Performance Technologies. “We have many clients in China， other parts of Asia， and the rest of the world who rely on intellectual property protection laws and the effectiveness of their local governments to enforce them.”

This result continues and builds upon INVISTAs track record of successful resolution of infringement cases in a number of jurisdictions and venues， including the China International Economic Trade Arbitration Commission， the Supreme Peoples Court of China， the Singapore International Arbitration Center， the Beijing Intermediate Peoples Court， and the High Court of Hong Kong， as well as in U.S. state and federal courts.

“We are glad to see that our intellectual property protection initiatives in China align well with the governments increased enforcement of these rights. This allows INVISTA to confidently continue developing and licensing leading-edge technology in China，” said Pickens.

In fact， it was during the course of this recent arbitration that INVISTA introduced its P8 technology： a new PTA platform that drives customers variable and capital costs even lower.

“We will take similar steps to protect this latest generation of technology， using legal actions as necessary to ensure protection of our intellectual property and the value it brings to our customers， everywhere in the world，” Pickens said.

Other cases that INVISTA has won or resolved in the past five years：

· In 2014， a Hong Kong court ruled in favor of INVISTA and prohibited a competing Chinese licensor from using INVISTAs trade secrets around its butanediol technology.

· In 2014， INVISTA resolved a lawsuit involving a Chinese engineer who admitted to infringing INVISTAs PTA technology.

· In 2013， the Singapore International Arbitration Center ruled in favor of INVISTA on a case involving misappropriation of PTA technology trade secrets and breach of the confidentiality agreement.

· In 2011， INVISTA resolved a case involving a competing Chinese licensor and use of INVISTAs proprietary butanediol technology.

“By the same token， INVISTA goes to great lengths to ensure that we are not inadvertently infringing the IP rights of others，” said Pickens. “And to further protect our investment， we continue to add to INVISTAs patent portfolio that covers the PTA technology we are licensing.”

INVISTA Performance Technologies （IPT） is the technology licensing group within INVISTA. IPT provides the resources and know-how to deliver world-scale technology for licensing to a growing portfolio of technologies in the value chains of polyester （PTA， polymer， fiber， R2R）， polyurethane （BDO， PTMEG） and nylon （N2O abatement）. For more information on license packages， please visit www.ipt. INVISTA.com.