Two Chinese companies were booted out of the bi-annual Light+Building trade fair this year for patent infringement. China’s intellectual property rights are facing an increasingly harsher environment as the LED industry enters the golden age. Coping with international intellectual rights has become a source of contention for many LED manufacturers, and a difficult issue to deal with for the Chinese LED industry. 

Chinese provincial government agencies cooperate to establish standards for components to boost patent bargaining chip

China’s entrance into the LED industry was late in the game. Intellectual property right problems have led to a bottleneck in the industry as Chinese manufacturers try to catch up. The Chinese LED industry must find a way to overcome technology barriers, break from the conundrum of having production capacity but no intellectual property, while avoiding going down the same disastrous path as the PV industry. Guangdong Providence therefore has taken the lead in implementing the “LED lighting standard component” plan. Mid and downstream manufacturers in the LED industry that already have advanced technology and patents, will establish the LED Lighting Standard Component R&D and Application Alliance to standardize property rights. 

”Good performance has already been seen for LED lighting components. Top manufacturers in Guangdong Province will be entering the joint standard light component testing laboratory, and will have the impact as becoming a role model in lighting component promotion. However, there are only a few member companies. Increasing Guangdong LED component standards to meet national ones will be beneficial towards industry development,” said a NVC Lighting employee. NVC Lighting is already standardized LED lighting components. 

Standards for LED lighting components are still mainly only within Guangdong Province and have yet to expand nationally. Aside from Jiangxi Outrace Technology, very few manufacturers outside Guangdong use standardized components. Key manufacturers in Jiangsu and Zhejiang Province have yet to participate in component standardization. This cripples the industry’s patent negotiating strength. Guangdong’s Strategic Emerging Industries International Intellectual Property Response Strategy discussion group urges the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and Guangdong Province Government to join hands in promoting LED lighting light source standard projects. Government agencies support upgrading the already mature Guangdong local standards into national standards to strengthen the country’s position and impact in the LED industry. 

LED ANT’S products hit the market to regulate international competition

Development in standards for lighting components will not only help increase technical (especially industry specific technology) advancement in the industry, but also boost China’s competitiveness in the LED global market and regulate competition. Cooperation between the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and Government of Guangdong Providence in the future on promoting LED light source standard projects will allow LED Advanced Union Technology Standard (ANT’S) labeled products to sweep the Chinese market. With the standard’s rollout China’s position and influence in the LED field will increase substantially.