I wonder if i can import and sell a product which is patented in another country (China) but sell it in my own land (Netherlands). There are no registrations from it in european lands. I have searched in Google patents, WIPO, uspto.gov . And i can see there are lots of chinese manufacturers selling it and exporting it to other countries.
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Is your product being manufactured by the company that owns the patent in China?– Eric SCommented Jul 24, 2019 at 20:10
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i think not, when i search the names from the inventors on google, nothing interesting appears than some random facebook links and total unrelated stuff.– FlyingBirdyCommented Jul 24, 2019 at 22:29
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1I, for one, would not want to bet my company on the opinion of unknown people from an internet Q&A site. Your best bet is to consult with an actual intellectual property attorney.– Eric SCommented Jul 25, 2019 at 1:17
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2 Answers
This is definitely an area where you are going to need to seek professional legal counsel. There are many issues here which will need careful navigation.
Depending on the invention there may be pending patents which could undermine your business case. Imagine investing large sums of money into a product only to discover that a patent was newly issued in your country.
Furthermore, as China (or other countries) become hubs for manufacturing activity you find out that the primary supplier of this already patented product is purchased by a Chinese company which relocates all operation to their home country, leaving you unable to obtain the product from an alternate supplier.
Bottom line. You probably need to find your own counsel if you are seriously considering it. Relying on the work of others, without even knowing the decisions that went into that work, is probably not a wise choice.
You definitely need to take legal advice on this issue.
There was a Chinese trade mark case that showed that manufacture in China - but only for export from China- was not trade mark infringement in China. Thus the manufacture could continue.
You need to find out if there is a similar patent case that can help you in the same way.
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Trademarks are not the same as patents so I don't see why this is particularly relevant.– Eric SCommented Jul 28, 2019 at 17:22
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It shows the way of thinking of a Court. Both patents and trade marks are an IP right. if there is no express provision to the contrary in the Act the Court may be prepared to apply the same reasoning. Manufacture of a product in a Country for export is not infringement in that country. It isn't necessarily about the IP right itself - but rather use/manufacture on a product in that country and whether that infringes. And that is why I said take legal advice - it is not cut and dry Commented Jul 28, 2019 at 22:30
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I'm not sure, but I believe that manufacture in a country that has an active patent is infringement regardless of whether the product is exported or not. This is the way it is in pretty much every country. This is completely unlike trademark which is only on the marking of the product within a country.– Eric SCommented Jul 29, 2019 at 1:36
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Each jurisdiction is different. That is why the person needs advice from a professional in that country - not some randoms on the internet. Infringement is a serious thing - do you really want to risk your business on some randoms on the internet? I would hope not. Commented Jul 29, 2019 at 1:49
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If you read my comments to the original question, I said practically the same thing.– Eric SCommented Jul 29, 2019 at 2:23