“REJECTED”: TIANGANG Won the Patent Lawsuit

In February 2019, SOLVAY announced to media that on behalf of its subsidiary CYTEC, it has filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Beijing Tiangang Auxiliary Co., Ltd. in China. On 30 March 2020, Beijing Intellectual Property Court formally ruled that appeal of SOLVAY/CYTEC is “REJECTED”. If SOLVAY/CYTEC fails to file an appeal within 30 days to the Supreme Court of China, the case will end with an victory for TIANGANG.

The case has lasted one year and five months since CYTEC filed its claim in November 2018. During this period, TIANGANG team consisting of technical experts, lawyers and patent agents made thorough preparation for this case, including a series of third part analysis, evidence collation, and technical preparations. After several court battles with the opposing team, TIANGANG has finally won a complete victory in this litigation.

Mr. Gang LIU, Executive Deputy General Manager of TIANGANG said: “We are very glad to see this result, which is not unexpected, as Tiangang has invested heavily into technology developments and has always been taking it seriously with protection of intellectual properties for both ours, and those of others. This is a very good showcase of how we, as technology-oriented specialty chemical company should protect ourselves in legal ways, as well as the seriousness of our attitude towards IP protection.”

Since its establishment in 1991, TIANGANG has always placed great importance on research and development of products with independent intellectual properties. After more than 20 years of development, in the field of light stabilizers, TIANGANG is very close to the position of leading its technology development, with a number of unique chemistry products being widely accepted in the market. This has put more importance on the company’s emphasis on intellectual property protections.

On the case of Tiangang® T-68, which is at the core of this legal dispute with SOLVAY/CYTEC, this product has shown very good performance in protection agricultural films in China, where severe chemical resistance is needed. Its development started more than ten years ago, and have gone through a very lengthy and costly process from molecule discovery, chemical engineering, to several years of field testing and formulation optimizations, it has finally been widely accepted for its superior performances. At the same time, with novel molecules in side, it is well protected by several patents as well.

Light stabilizer, as an important additive to prolong outdoor service life of polymers at very low concentration, would see more demand for new developments when the world puts much more emphasis on sustainability. Therefore, TIANGANG would continue with its adamant commitments to technology developments and protection of intellectual properties.