Three Chinese citizens recently filed an infringement complaint against Sony (China) Co Ltd and Canon (China) Co Ltd with a Shenzhen court, reportedly the first of its kind in the Chinese integrated circuit industry.

The three complainants - Zhou Xuening and Dong Tao from Zhengzhou-based Kaida Electronics Co Ltd and Xue Ping from Sun Yat-Sen University's graduate school in Shenzhen -claim 500,000 yuan in damages for each of their four patents.

The patents were granted by the State Intellectual Property Office in 2008 and 2009 and are now widely used in a broad range of Sony and Canon's lineups, including DVDs, cameras and cellphones, according to the complaints.

(Source: China Daily)