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Sumitomo Rubber Industries, Ltd. is pleased to announce that, after previously filing a lawsuit in the Beijing Intellectual Property Court seeking an injunction against the infringement, etc. of our patent rights (Chinese Patent No. ZL201110212627.X) and our design rights (Chinese Design Right No. ZL201130113641.5), thanks to the mediation of the court, we have now reached a settlement with TIMSUN RUBBER TIRE (WEIHAI) Co., Ltd., a Chinese company that manufactures and sells tires under the TIMSUM brand.

The specific rights that we claimed in this lawsuit concerned the design rights to the tread pattern designed for our DUNLOP “GEOMAX MX52” tires for competitive motocross racing (see image below) and the patent rights to our proprietary “Progressive Cornering Block Technology” for tires.

DUNLOP “GEOMAX MX52” Tire for Competitive Motocross Racing	“Progressive Cornering Block Technology” for Tires

Our company had filed suit in the Beijing Intellectual Property Court on January 11, 2019, claiming that TIMSUN RUBBER TIRE (WEIHAI) Co., Ltd. had infringed upon our intellectual property rights by manufacturing and selling motorcycle tires that used a tread pattern for which we had secured patent and design rights in China. This lawsuit has now concluded in a settlement in which TIMSUN RUBBER TIRE (WEIHAI) Co., Ltd. admitted to infringing upon our intellectual property rights and agreed to cease all further infringement and pay a settlement fee.

 

As we consider our intellectual property to be an invaluable asset to our group, Sumitomo Rubber Industries will continue to take aggressive measures to protect our intellectual property from any unauthorized use or infringement. At the same time, we will also continue to actively develop new cutting-edge technologies while working to ensure the integrity of our intellectual property so that we may utilize it to its fullest.