The Intellectual Property Court of the Supreme People's Court (SPC), China's top court, received letters of appreciation recently from Dyson, a world-renowned manufacturer of household appliances that originated in the United Kingdom, and Dreame, a China-based intelligent technology company, both of whom thanked the court and its judge Ke Xuning for their efforts in facilitating a package settlement of over 20 IP-related cases filed both in China and other countries.

In 2022, Dyson appealed to the SPC, claiming invention patent infringement by Dreame, as it was dissatisfied with a lower court ruling.

During the trial, the court found out both parties, as major home appliance enterprises with international influence, have historical IP infringement disputes. They have civil suits against each other on rights infringement, and administrative suits against each other on patenting procedure invalidation. In addition, the two sides also have IP disputes in European countries, including Germany.

After deliberation, the collegiate panel reached a consensus and completed the ruling document. However, instead of announcing the details of the verdict, the panel set up a platform for the two parties to communicate with each other, acting as a third-party to mediate and guide them to understand each other's core interests and build up mutual trust and consensus. After rounds of negotiations, the two sides shook hands and reached a package settlement involving over 20 IP disputes worldwide. They signed a settlement agreement which has now been fulfilled.

"Judge Ke effectively considered the long-term interests of both parties, reduced the litigation burden on both sides, and substantively resolved the disputes," said Dreame in its appreciation letter.

"Under the auspices of your court, the two parties reached a mediation agreement and fulfilled it, achieving substantive resolution of the disputes," said Dyson in the appreciation letter it provided. "Your efforts have shown the world that China is paying increasing attention to IP protection and has made great progress, which can serve as a good reference for other countries."

In response to the letters, the SPC said on its official Weibo account that the proactive cooperation of both parties contributed to the settlement and achieved a win-win solution. The people's courts will continue to strengthen judicial protection of IP in a bid to foster a first-class business environment that is market-oriented, law-based and internationalized, it said.