Based in Chongqing, the Taiji Group Co Ltd, one of the leading pharmaceutical companies in China, has always attached great importance to supporting the protection of intellectual property rights and it has been put this principle into practice for decades. Its impressive and rapid development relies heavily on the practice of patent protection.

Owning three listed companies, including the Taiji group, Southwest Pharmaceutical and Tongjunge, the company has invested heavily in maintaining its leading edge in patent protection. Its intangible assets, including 96 granted patents and more than 400 trademarks, have contributed hugely to its success.

At present, all of its top 10 best-performing products enjoy intellectual property protection. For example, its new product, "Donatello" (rosiglitazone sodium), is the first compound patent product in the field of diabetes with independent intellectual property rights made in China.

Its standout performance in this field has generated great profits, but the company has also encountered problems with forgeries and counterfeits.

Since the 1990s, it has conducted litigation on the patent of Ji Zhi Syrup, eventually achieving exclusive production of the product through acquisition. In 2003, the company's anti-diabetic drug, Donatello, was ready to go onto market, only to face last minute patent challenges from GlaxoSmithKline (GSK).

Finally, on the day of the preliminary hearing, GSK withdrew from legal action in China to defend its formulation patent on rosiglitazone, the major component of its own ant diabetic drug, Avandia. The Taiji Group claimed a major victory following eight months of litigation.

After five years of litigation with Bayer in Germany, the Taiji Group finally won the "hash-pass" trademark case and not only preserved a national painkiller brand, but also kept annual sales of almost 100 million units and tens of millions yuan of profits.

The re-trial ultimately determined that "hash-pass" was registered as a trademark, while "Saridon" was the generic name for the drug, rather than a trademark, so there was no malicious registration in this case. The judgment confirmed Taiji's legal rights to use the trademark "hash-pass".

Vice general manager of the Tai Ji Group, said: "Whether the patent litigation or trademark litigation, regardless of the attention paid to intellectual property by these international companies, on the final basis, it is self-interest that dominates the market after all, just like in a round of game playing. This is our most profound belief."

"Never be afraid of seeking legal support in intellectual property litigation with international companies - this is the most important lesson we have learned," said Chen Kang, director of Taiji's IP department, adding that global players were not always winners in such litigations.

(Source: China Daily)