Most of new train’s core tech developed by China

China’s newly-launched high-speed train is the first to adopt wholly self-developed core technologies, experts said.

The research team of the new model, called Fuxing, analyzed more than 10,000 related patents worldwide and adjusted the technical design from time to time to avoid any possible violation of others’ intellectual property rights, said Wang Qian, deputy director of the intellectual property department of CRRC Corp Ltd, one of the manufacturers of the train.

The new train made its debut on June 26, traveling between Beijing and Shanghai at 400 kilometers per hour.

The models are expected to last for 30 years, 10 years longer than previous models, and can endure temperatures from minus 40 C to 40 C, said He Huawu, chief engineer of China Railway Corp, the State-owned rail operator that led the design of the new models.

Among the 254 technical standards, 84 percent belong to China, he added.

CRRC applied for more than 30,000 patents, 17,309 of which were validated, the most of their kind in the world.

In 2016, it doubled its number of foreign patent applications to 303, including in the United States, Japan, Australia and New Zealand.

“In terms of proprietary innovation, IP specialists played the role of streetsweeper or goalkeeper to identify and remove technical solutions with alleged infringement of rights,” Wang said. “The goal is to go global in the future.”

However challenges remain not only in protecting their own IP but also in dealing with charges of IP violations from foreign companies, said Tang Guangliang, intellectual property researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

Li Jin, chief researcher of the China Institute for Enterprises, said that since many companies suffered heavy losses as a result of the disputes, they should learn more about the local laws and fight against malicious prosecutions.

“Chinese companies didn’t attach much importance to IP in the past. With the transition from low-end to highend exports, Chinese enterprises gradually realized it is intellectual property and standards that really matter their position on the global stage,” Li said.

Gan Shaoning, deputy commissioner of the State Intellectual Property Office, said they were planning to send IP experts to work at Chinese embassies in other countries and provide information and consulting services at some exhibitions to help Chinese companies to go global.

17,309 patents owned by CRRC Corp