Recently, the US International Trade Commission (ITC) voted to launch a 337 investigation (investigation code: 337-TA-1081) for LED lighting equipment, LED power supply and its components (Certain Led Lighting Devices, Led Power Supplies, And Components Thereof). The investigation involved LED lighting equipment (such as lighting equipment and light bulbs using LEDs as light sources) and their components, LED power supplies, reflectors and optics. On September 21, 2017, the United States Philips Lighting North America Corp. of Somerset, NJ and the Netherlands Philips Lighting Holding BV of Eindhoven, Netherlands filed a 337 investigation application with the US ITC, claiming to export to the United States, import in the United States and sell in the United States. This product uses or contains stolen trade secrets (US registered patent numbers 6,586,890, 7,038,399, 7,256,554, 7,262,559 and 8,070,328), requesting US ITC release Universal exclusion orders (or limited prohibitions) and prohibitions. The United States eventually listed the following companies as designated respondents: American Feit Electric Company, Inc., of Pico Rivera, CA, China Feit Electric Company, Inc. (China), of Xiamen, China, Lowe's Companies, Inc., of Mooresville, NC, USA LG Sourcing, Inc., of North Wilkesboro, NC, MSi Lighting, Inc., of Boca Raton, FL, USA American Satco Products, Inc., of Brentwood, NY, Topaz Lighting Corp. of Holtsville, NY, USA The US Wangs Alliance Corporation (operating as WAC Lighting Co. of Port Washington, NY), China WAC Lighting (Shanghai) Co. Ltd. of Shanghai, China. The US Trade Commission will determine the end of the investigation within 45 days of filing. Except for the US Trade Representative's veto on policy reasons, the US International Trade Commission's relief order issued in Section 337 came into effect on the date of publication and has a final effect from the 60th day after the date of publication. What is the 337 investigation? The 337 investigation refers to the investigation conducted by the United States International Trade Commission (USITC) in accordance with Section 337 of the US Tariff Act of 1930 (referred to as Section 337) and related amendments. What is prohibited is any unfair competition or any unfair trade in exports to the United States. 337 The investigation targets the infringement of US intellectual property rights by imported products and other unfair competition in import trade. Section 337 is the most flexible and lethal trade protection measure in the world. Any foreign export products that are suspected to be infringing by the investigation in 337 will directly prohibit the import of the products involved and the sales in the US market by issuing an ban on import orders. And there is no circumvention. In addition, Section 337 has crossed national borders, and violations around the world may be prosecuted, even including non-exports. According to the “337†investigation of the general exclusion order, a losing case, together with other companies producing the product in the country, also has to withdraw from the US market. Pedestrians analyzed that the essence of the "337 investigation" is a means of market competition. The Associate Research Fellow of the Americas and Oceania Research Department of the Ministry of Commerce said to the media, "The '337' survey is a way for the United States to crowd out competitors." Nearly half of the US surveys target China According to observations, the US “337 investigation†initiated time in China was concentrated in May, January, and June. The “337†survey was mainly based on intellectual property surveys. In the last three years, it was mainly concentrated in certain technical content. Electronic industry and manufacturing. From the first half of the last three years, the number of “337†surveys initiated by the United States against China shows that the “337†survey in 2016 has increased significantly. There were 83 in the first half of 2016, 22 in the first half of 2015 and the first half of 2017. Start. According to the data analysis, the proportion of all the “337†surveys initiated by the US survey in China has increased significantly, from 29.4% in 2015 to 40.6% in 2016, and this year and 48.1%. This shows that the US “337†investigation is increasing the investigation of Chinese goods. (Note: The Blue Line is the change in the number of “337†surveys initiated by the United States against China from 2015 to the first half of 2017 (as of June 21); the red line is involved in the “337†survey initiated by the United States from 2015 to 2017. The number of Chinese companies has changed.) Take the “337 Survey†in January 2017 as an example. The industries that have been surveyed are mainly electronic products, such as flash memory devices and liquid crystal electronic products. According to the information of the US Department of Commerce website, the respondent is currently designated as a natural person to withdraw the case, but the designated respondent is the enterprise, some are dismissed, and some are identified as losing. The Ministry of Commerce did not give clear information on the reasons for the loss. According to the terms, in general, if you do not sue, it means losing the case. If you lose the relevant products that the company is sued for any reason, you will not be able to enter the US market. Judging from the "337 investigation" initiated by the United States on lighting, there are also Chinese-related enterprises. It is understood that the Chinese enterprises that were small in scale, small in quantity, and low in value added entered the US market, so they did not encounter the “337 investigationâ€. However, with the gradual improvement of the innovation capability of Chinese enterprises in recent years, some of the independent research and development of high-tech and high value-added, especially the products that compete with the US domestic enterprises began to enter the US market, American companies began to use the "337 investigation" Trying to prevent Chinese companies from entering the US market. How do Chinese companies respond to the “337 investigationâ€? In response to the “337 investigationâ€, it is necessary to look at the intellectual property capabilities of enterprises and win the “337 investigationâ€, which requires the intellectual property strength of enterprises. Experts said that active response is the best response. The refusal to plead is to lose the case. Although this seems to be the “overlord clause,†it also encourages the company to cope with it from another aspect. According to China Optical Network, in recent years, Chinese companies have successfully responded to the “337 investigation†process. For example, ZTE’s “seven-game winning streak†ended, and the “myth†of the “337 investigation†was shattered. In addition, the typical case of responding to success is that Jiekang took two years to respond to success. However, for the “337†survey, the response of most Chinese companies was a failure. An associate researcher from the Research Institute of the Americas and Oceania of the Ministry of Commerce said that it is difficult for us to say that companies must respond to complaints or how to look at them, or to look at the strength of enterprises - such as steel companies, which have great trade interests in the United States, will definitely To respond to the lawsuit; some small businesses may directly abandon the US market and turn to the European market. For example, last year's steel industry, dozens of one-time survey industry, China's industry associations will organize, and hold the group to respond. Usually, once a company chooses to respond, many follow-up questions come one after another. One is very expensive, and the “337 investigation†is an international lawsuit, which requires the lawyers of both China and the United States to follow up. The other is that it is possible to win or not. Once you lose the case, you will not only have to pay a high legal fee, but you will also be punished with a penalty of 300%. There are many ways to deal with the “337 investigationsâ€. “Tear to tear†is a way. Reconciliation is not necessarily a solution. In recent years, when Chinese companies encountered the "337 investigation", some enterprises reached a patent cross-licensing through negotiations with rival companies to reach a settlement. It should be said that this also does not lose an effective solution. Experts pointed out that reviewing the “337 Surveyâ€, no matter what method is adopted, an important basis is that it must have sufficient intellectual property rights. Without the foundation of intellectual property, nothing can be said. In today's international market where intellectual property competition is increasingly fierce, it is necessary to “before the terracotta warriors and horses move, grain and grass first†and “grain and grass†is intellectual property rights. Enterprises should take the lead in the intellectual property layout of the target market before the new products go abroad. Even if it encounters the “337 investigationâ€, it can take care of it quickly, quickly release the crisis, and escort the product into the US market. It is difficult to win a business without a company with the first priority in intellectual property. Therefore, Chinese enterprises should further attach great importance to intellectual property rights, build their own intellectual property base, use good overseas distribution of intellectual property rights, exploit the market with intellectual property confidence in the international market competition, and establish new products in the international market competition stage with intellectual property strength. image of. In this way, not only can the unfavorable factors of the "337 investigation" be resolved, but also the "Chinese brand" can be made bigger and stronger. Ac Magnetic Contactor,Ac Electrical Contactor,Ac Series Contactor,Ac Contactor For Switching Capacitor NanJing QUANNING electric Co.,Ltd , https://www.quanningtrading.com
