Shanghai Finc Bio Tech Inc. (Finc company), a research and development, production and marketing enterprise, was the owner of an invention patent (No. 201310030601.2) for a specific strain of edible fungi: "new pure white hypsizigus marmoreus strain, Finc-W-247". The strain had the advantages of a short cultivation and culture period, a high single yield, a long preservation period, and a high degree of edibility. It was also suitable for large-area planting.
Finc company found that Tianjin Lvshengpengyuan Agricultural Science and Technology Development Co., Ltd. (Lvshengpengyuan) and Tianjin Hongbin Hesheng Agricultural Technology Development Co., Ltd. (Hongbin Hesheng) were, without authority, producing and selling allegedly infringing products in the Beijing Xinfadii Agricultural products wholesale market. It brought a patent infringement action in the Beijing Intellectual Property Court.
The Beijing Intellectual Property Court held, on the basis of expert evidence provided by relevant professional institutions, that the allegedly infringing products fell within the scope of the patent involved. The products were identified as those of the Defendants as the outer packaging was marked with the Defendants' trademarks. The Court ordered Lvshengpengyuan and Hongbinhesheng to pay compensation to Finc company for economic loss in the sum of 1 million yuan for economic loss (approx. US$155,000) and 84,175 yuan (approx. US$13,000) for reasonable expenses. The Defendants appealed to the Supreme People's Court, which upheld the first instance ruling.
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