A utility model patent of Chinese on-demand services giant Meituan’s Mobike has partially survived the challenge of its rival Didi bike-sharing unit Qingju, according to an announcement released by the China National Intellectual Property Administration(CNIPA) on November 8.
The disputed Mobike patent ZL201721171878.7, entitled "seatpost clip assembly and vehicles", involves the seat height adjustment technology, a very important function for shared bike.
It is reportedly the second time that the Mobike patent has been challenged by Qingju. In April 2019, the CNIPA invalidated the patent, declaring all the patent rights invalid.
Mobike filed an appeal to the Beijing Intellectual Property Court but was rejected by the court.
Mobike then appealed to the Supreme People's Court(SPC), where claim 1 of the patent was declared creative in a determination made in 2021. But the SPC didn’t made public further details about its reasoning.
Based on this determination, the SPC remanded the case to CNIPA. CNIPA made its announcement on November 8, declaring part of its patent rights invalid.
Relevant reports suggest that as competition grows increasingly fierce between the two rivals, they have filed several patent infringement lawsuits against each other, involving at least 8 patents. Up to now, most of the patents have been invalidated, with the above disputed patent seeing the most rounds of battles.
Source:China Intellectual Property
