Recently, a private enterprise in Jiangsu Province "offering a reward of 1 million yuan for cross-provincial collection of clues on the illegal and criminal activities of public officials" has attracted attention on the Internet.
The company offers a reward of one million to collect reporting clues
*According to the report, the "1 million reward announcement" circulating on the Internet shows that the payment is Jiangsu Yuantong corrugated pipe*** The payment time is January 27.
The reward announcement pointed out that "due to Chen, the captain of the Comprehensive Law Enforcement Brigade of the Market Supervision and Administration Bureau of Changle District, Fuzhou, in handling the patent infringement dispute between Jiangsu Hongxin Rotary Compensator Technology Co., Ltd. and our company, as well as the company's complaint against our company's unqualified product quality case, knowing that our company's products do not have quality problems, and at the same time fully comply with the purchaser's contract, he still tossed endlessly and without a bottom line, abused his power to send more than 20 letters to harass the units that are related to our products, and to the owner, The construction party, the supervision party and other units carried out more than 50 investigations, and leaked our company's trade secrets to the competitor Hongxin Company for personal gain. ”
The reward announcement shows, "Our company is now issuing a reward announcement to openly solicit clues about Chen's abuse of power, favoritism, ** and other illegal crimes during his tenure in public office." If the clues provided by the informant are forwarded by our company to the authoritative department for verification, and cause Chen to be investigated for criminal responsibility by the judicial authorities, our company will give the informant 1 million yuan of financial assistance. ”
* The inquiry found that the company's Weibo has repeatedly published complaints and reports against Chen since January 15 this year. One of the real-name reporting articles shows that the company reported to the relevant leaders of Fuzhou City.
According to the above-mentioned report article, Jiangsu Yuantong corrugated pipe won the bid for the rotary compensator of the central heating renovation project (off-site part) in Changle North District, and Jiangsu Hongxin Rotary Compensator Technology, which has a peer competitive relationship, filed a patent infringement dispute with the Changle District Municipal Supervision Bureau, which filed the case on September 14, 2023, and the case was tried by Chen Mou, the captain of the comprehensive law enforcement brigade of the bureau. The next day, Hongxin Company reported that the quality of our products was unqualified, and the report was also investigated by Captain Chen. In the reporting materials, Jiangsu Yuantong bellows *** believes that during the four-month investigation, Chen was "suspected of abusing his power and committing favoritism".
On the afternoon of January 29, the relevant person in charge of Jiangsu Yuantong bellows told reporters that the reward announcement on the Internet was indeed issued by their company, and "the relevant announcement has been written in detail."
In the afternoon of the same day, it was learned from the official relevant person in Changle District, Fuzhou, that the local government was already investigating the matter.
Several lawsuits between the two companies
After the news spread on the Internet, it immediately became a hot topic on the Internet. Because, it is common for relevant state departments to offer rewards for clues, and enterprises to reward for clues on violations of relevant departments, which is really "long to see". Out of the "comparison of strength and weakness", many people's first reaction is: this company must have no choice, so it will make this decision. Therefore, it is very instinctive to think that "there must be something wrong with the person being reported".
Is that really that simple?
The author checked and found that the real party was actually the whistleblower Jiangsu Yuantong corrugated pipe *** hereinafter referred to as "Yuantong Company") and Jiangsu Hongxin Rotary Compensator Technology *** hereinafter referred to as "Hongxin Company"). The two companies, both Jiangsu enterprises, have loved and killed each other for many years, and their fighting grounds have also been killed from Jiangsu to Guangxi and Henan, this time in Fujian.
According to Tianyancha, Yuantong was established in 2001 with a registered capital of 168.88 million yuan and one shareholder, Liu Yuehong; Hongxin Company was established in 2002 with a registered capital of 125.8 million yuan and three shareholders, of which Song Zhanggen holds 91 shares21.%。Both companies are very large companies.
It is learned from the judgment document network that since 2017, Yuantong Company and Hongxin Company have fought many lawsuits on patent disputes, and most of the plaintiffs are Hongxin Company.
The earliest one that can be found is the civil ruling of the Intermediate People's Court of Nanning City, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, with case number (2016) Gui 01 Min Chu No. 579. The Nanning Intermediate People's Court filed the case on September 18, 2016 in the case of infringement of invention patent rights between the plaintiff Jiangsu Hongxin Rotary Compensator Technology Co., Ltd. and the defendant China Power Investment Beibu Gulf (Guangxi) Thermal Power Co., Ltd. Jiangsu Yuantong Bellows. The plaintiff, Jiangsu Hongxin Rotary Compensator Technology Co., Ltd., filed an application for withdrawal of the lawsuit with the court on August 4, 2017. The court allowed the case to be dismissed.
Subsequently, the Intermediate People's Court of Wuxi City, Jiangsu Province issued a civil ruling of the first instance of the dispute over infringement of invention patent rights between Jiangsu Hongxin Rotary Compensator Technology Co., Ltd. and Jiangsu Guoxin Association Gas Thermal Power Co., Ltd. (2016) Su 02 Min Chu No. 204. The Wuxi Intermediate People's Court filed the case of infringement of invention patent rights between Jiangsu Hongxin Rotary Compensator Technology and Jiangsu Guoxin Association Gas Thermal Power Co., Ltd. on July 26, 2016. Later, on September 9, 2016, Jiangsu Beite pipe fittings *** Jiangsu Yuantong corrugated pipe *** were added as a third party to participate in the lawsuit. On January 25, 2018, the plaintiff, Hongxin Company, filed an application for withdrawal of the lawsuit with the Wuxi Intermediate People's Court. The court allowed the case to be dismissed.
The case number issued by the Intermediate People's Court of Zhengzhou City, Henan Province is (2015) Zheng Zhimin Chu Zi No. 581, Jiangsu Hongxin Rotary Compensator Technology and Jiangsu Yuantong Corrugated Pipe, Xinzheng Fifth Construction Company, Xinzheng Fifth Construction Company, the first instance civil ruling shows that the plaintiff Jiangsu Hongxin Rotary Compensator Technology and the defendant Jiangsu Yuantong Corrugated Pipe *** Defendant Xinzheng Fifth Construction Company infringed invention patent disputes, and the plaintiff Jiangsu Hongxin Rotary Compensator Technology *** On November 12, 2018, he filed an application to withdraw the lawsuit with this court. The court allowed the case to be dismissed.
According to the civil ruling of the first instance of the dispute over infringement of invention patent rights issued by the Intermediate People's Court of Zhengzhou City, Henan Province, the case number is (2018) Yu 01 Min Chu No. 4947, Jiangsu Hongxin Rotary Compensator Technology and Jiangsu Yuantong Bellows***, Henan Sanhui Construction Engineering, Henan Province, the case of infringement of invention patent rights between the plaintiff Jiangsu Hongxin Rotary Compensator Technology and the defendant Jiangsu Yuantong Bellows *** and the defendant Henan Sanhui Construction Engineering *** was filed on November 27, 2018. On May 24, 2019, the plaintiff, Jiangsu Hongxin Rotary Compensator Technology, submitted an application to this court to withdraw the lawsuit. The court allowed the case to be dismissed.
According to the civil ruling of the case of infringement of invention patents between the plaintiff Jiangsu Hongxin Rotary Compensator Technology Co., Ltd. and the defendant Jiangsu Yuantong Corrugated Pipe *** Jiangsu Guoxin Association Gas Thermal Power Co., Ltd. (2020) Su 01 Min Chu No. 3501 of the Intermediate People's Court of Nanjing City, Jiangsu Province, the plaintiff Jiangsu Hongxin Rotary Compensator Technology Co., Ltd. and the defendant Jiangsu Yuantong Corrugated Pipe *** Jiangsu Guoxin Xielian Gas Thermal Power Co., Ltd. The Nanjing Intermediate People's Court filed the case on December 10, 2020. The plaintiff, Jiangsu Hongxin Rotary Compensator Technology Co., Ltd., failed to pay the case acceptance fee in advance within seven days after the court served the notice of payment of litigation fees in accordance with the law. According to the plaintiff Jiangsu Hongxin Rotary Compensator Technology ***, the lawsuit will be automatically withdrawn.
In other words, the above five cases were all closed with the withdrawal of the plaintiff Hongxin Company.
Yuantong Company was the plaintiff and also sued the State Intellectual Property Office.
According to the administrative judgment issued by the Beijing Intellectual Property Court with case number (2018) Jing 73 Xingchu No. 307, the patent number of the former Patent Reexamination Board of the State Intellectual Property Office against the plaintiff against a third party is 2006100413014. The invalidation of the invention patent titled "High-pressure Resistant Rotation Compensator for Pipelines" was decided to determine that the reasons of the applicant for invalidation were not established, and the validity of the patent was maintained. The plaintiff was dissatisfied with the decision to be sued and filed a lawsuit with this court. The patent is owned by Hongxin Company. The Beijing Intellectual Property Court held that the facts found in the defendant's decision made by the original Patent Reexamination Board were clear and the law was correctly applied. The plaintiff's claim has no factual and legal basis, and this court does not support it. The plaintiff Jiangsu Yuantong corrugated pipe ***'s claim was rejected.
The Jiangsu High People's Court also concluded a case of rejecting Hongxin's litigation claims.
According to the civil judgment of the second instance of the dispute over infringement of invention patent rights between Jiangsu Hongxin Rotary Compensator Technology and Jiangsu Yuantong Bellows *** and Jiangsu Huadian Yizheng Thermal Power *** with the case number (2018) Su Min Zhong No. 1266 of Jiangsu Provincial High People's Court, the appellant Jiangsu Hongxin Rotary Compensator Technology *** was dissatisfied with the Nanjing Intermediate People's Court of Jiangsu Province due to the infringement of invention patent rights with the appellees Jiangsu Yuantong Bellows *** Jiangsu Huadian Yizheng Thermal Power *** and Yangzhou Huasheng Energy *** (2018) Su 01 Min Chu No. 364 Civil Judgment, appealed to this court. Hongxin Company filed a lawsuit with the court of first instance, requesting an order that: 1Yuantong Company immediately stopped producing and selling infringing products; 2.Huadian Company and Huasheng Company shall immediately stop using the infringing products; 3.Yuantong Company compensated Hongxin Company for economic losses of 1 million yuan; 4.Yuantong Company, Huadian Company and Huasheng Company jointly bear the litigation costs of this case. The court of first instance ruled that the litigation claim of Jiangsu Hongxin Rotary Compensator Technology was rejected. The case acceptance fee is 13,800 yuan, which is borne by Jiangsu Hongxin Rotary Compensator Technology. The court of second instance rejected the appeal and upheld the original judgment.
The lawsuit went to the Supreme People's Court, and Yuantong compensated 4 million
After that, there is a patent lawsuit that will be fought to the end and generate compensation.
Jiangsu Provincial High People's Court's case number (2018) Su Min Zhong No. 1267 Jiangsu Yuantong corrugated pipe *** and Jiangsu Hongxin Rotary Compensator Technology *** State Power Investment Group Guangxi Beibu Gulf (Qinzhou) Thermal Power *** The second-instance civil judgment of the dispute over infringement of invention patent rights shows that Hongxin Company filed a lawsuit with the court of first instance requesting that: 1Yuantong Company immediately stopped producing and selling infringing products; 2.Qinzhou Thermal Power Company immediately stopped using the infringing products; 3.Yuantong Company compensated Hongxin Company for economic losses of 5 million yuan; 4.Yuantong Company and Qinzhou Thermal Power Company jointly bear the litigation costs of this case. The court of first instance held that the allegedly infringing products fell within the scope of protection of the patent in question, and Yuantong's actions constituted infringement. The court of first instance ruled: 1. Jiangsu Yuantong Corrugated Pipe shall immediately stop the production and sale of products infringing on the invention patent of Jiangsu Hongxin Rotary Compensator Technology Co., Ltd. 20061004 No. 4 "High Pressure Resistant Rotary Compensator for Pipelines" from the date of the effective date of the judgment; 2. Jiangsu Yuantong Corrugated Pipe shall compensate Jiangsu Hongxin Rotary Compensator Technology for economic losses of 4 million yuan within 15 days from the date of entry into force of the judgment; 3. Reject other litigation claims of Jiangsu Hongxin Rotary Compensator Technology. The case acceptance fee of this case is 46,800 yuan, which is borne by Jiangsu Yuantong corrugated pipe.
The Jiangsu High Court upheld the original judgment in the second instance.
The case went all the way to the Supreme Court. The case number of the Supreme People's Court of the People's Republic of China is (2021) Supreme Law Min Shen No. 3831, Jiangsu Yuantong Corrugated Pipe, Jiangsu Hongxin Rotary Compensator Technology, etc., and the civil ruling on the civil application for retrial review of the invention patent infringement dispute shows that the retrial applicant, Jiangsu Yuantong Corrugated Pipe, hereinafter referred to as Yuantong Company, was compelled for the retrial of the defendant Jiangsu Hongxin Rotary Compensator Technology and the defendant of the first instance, the State Power Investment Group Guangxi Beibu Gulf (Qinzhou) Thermal Power Co., Ltd. In the case of infringement of invention patent rights, he was dissatisfied with the civil judgment of the Jiangsu Provincial High People's Court (2018) Su Min Zhong No. 1267 and applied to this court for a retrial. The Supreme People's Court finally ruled to reject the retrial application of Jiangsu Yuantong Corrugated Pipe.
The case has been executed.
According to the enforcement ruling of the dispute over infringement of invention patent rights between Jiangsu Hongxin Rotary Compensator Technology *** and Jiangsu Yuantong Corrugated Pipe, the case number of the Intermediate People's Court of Nanjing Municipality, Jiangsu Province is (2020) Su 01 Zhi No. 689, because the person subject to enforcement, Jiangsu Yuantong Corrugated Pipe, failed to perform the obligations determined in the legal documents, Jiangsu Hongxin Rotary Compensator Technology Co., Ltd. applied to this court for compulsory enforcement, and this court filed the case for enforcement on July 20, 2020. During the implementation process, Jiangsu Yuantong corrugated pipe *** remitted 4,046,800 yuan to the account of the hospital, and the hospital remitted 4004357 yuan to the account of Jiangsu Hongxin Rotary Compensator Technology Co., Ltd., and collected 42,443 yuan in execution fees.
As a result, we have a clearer understanding of why Yuantong Company will reward the personnel of relevant departments in Fuzhou.
When Yuantong Company won the bid, Hongxin Company filed a patent infringement dispute with the Changle District Municipal Supervision Bureau. If the market supervision department files a case, there will be disagreements between all parties in the process, and the construction period may also be delayed. Hongxin Company can afford to wait, Yuantong Company must not be able to wait.
As for whether the relevant departments are really "suspected of abuse of power and favoritism" as Yuantong Company said, it is necessary to wait for the investigation results of the relevant departments.