Sumitomo Rubber settles patent, design rights lawsuit with Chinese tire maker

Beijing - Sumitomo Rubber Industries (SRI) has reached a settlement agreement with a Chinese tire manufacturer over the infringement of its patent and design rights.

The Japanese group reached a settlement with Timsun Rubber Tire (Weihai) Co. Ltd over the infringement of its rights to the tread pattern designed for Dunlop Geomax MX52 tires for competitive motorcross racing, Sumitomo announced 29 Oct.

The lawsuit also involved Sumitomo’s patent right for proprietary “progressive cornering block technology” for tires, it added.

Sumitomo Rubber filed the intellectual property lawsuit with the Beijing Intellectual Property Court on 11 Jan 2019.

“This lawsuit has now concluded in a settlement in which Timsun Rubber Tire (Weihai) admitted to infringing upon our intellectual property rights and agreed to cease all further infringement and pay a settlement fee,” the Japanese group noted.

Sumitomo Rubber said it considered its intellectual property to be “an invaluable asset” for the group and stated that it would “continue to take aggressive measures to protect our intellectual property from any unauthorised use or infringement.”