Aramid fiber, carbon fiber and ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene fiber are also called the three major High-performance fibers are widely used in national defense and civilian fields and are strategic materials for a strong country and military. The American company DuPont not only has first-mover advantages in technology and market in the field of aramid fiber, but is also good at using patent resources to consolidate and strengthen its own advantages, continuously expand the industrial chain, and squeeze the survival space of weak enterprises. For many years, my country’s aramid fiber companies have been struggling to survive and are in urgent need of breaking through the cracks. This article hopes to provide suggestions for the development of my country’s aramid companies by analyzing DuPont’s patent layout.
DuPont occupies a monopoly in the aramid industry
Currently, the most There are two types of aramid products with practical value: (1) meta-aramid, whose chemical name is “poly-m-phenylene isophthalamide” fiber, which is called aramid 1313 in my country; (2) para-aramid, The chemical name is “polyphenylene terephthalamide” fiber, which is called aramid 1414 in my country. The chemical structures of the two are similar, but their properties are very different and their application fields are different. Meta-aramid has outstanding high temperature resistance, flame retardancy and insulation, and is mainly used in fields such as high-temperature protective clothing, electrical insulation and high-temperature filtration. Para-aramid has the characteristics of high strength and high modulus, and is known as the “Versatile King” among polymer materials. It is mainly used in personal protection, bulletproof armor, optical cables, friction sealing materials, rubber products, high-strength cables, etc.
Aramid fiber was originally successfully developed and industrialized by DuPont in the United States in the 1960s. After 60 years of development, DuPont aramid fiber has become a leader in both research and development and large-scale production. They are becoming increasingly mature and occupy monopoly positions in technology and market. At present, the global production of para-aramid fiber reaches 80,000 tons and that of meta-aramid fiber reaches 40,000 tons. Among them, DuPont’s para-aramid and meta-aramid market shares accounted for 51.6% and 67.4% respectively, Japan’s Teijin Company’s market share in para-aramid reached 38.3%, and domestic enterprise Taihe New Materials’ market share in meta-aramid It ranks second in the world (see Figure 1).
my country’s aramid fiber technology started late, and the main production capacity is distributed among 5 companies (see Figure 2). In terms of varieties, meta-aramid and para-aramid have different levels of development. Meta-aramid is relatively mature and has established large-scale production capacity, while para-aramid relies heavily on imports. my country began to develop aramid fiber in the 1970s. During the “Twelfth Five-Year Plan” period, meta-aramid fiber achieved a technological breakthrough. In 2018, my country’s total output of meta-aramid fiber was approximately 12,000 tons. Representative companies include Yantai Taihe New Materials Co., Ltd. Hechaomeisi New Materials Co., Ltd.; Breakthroughs in key para-aramid fiber equipment, products and application industrialization technologies are important tasks during the “Thirteenth Five-Year Plan” period. In 2018, there were three para-aramid fiber enterprises above designated size in my country, with an output of about 1,800 tons, and domestic demand of about 10,000 tons. The demand gap was filled by imports.
Analysis of DuPont’s global patent layout system
Through the Incopat database search, as of March 12, 2020, a total of 3,353 aramid fiber patents published by DuPont were retrieved. After simple family merging, 1,287 patents of the same family were obtained.
DuPont’s patent application in the field of aramid fiber began in 1957 and continues until now (see Figure 3). On February 28, 1957, DuPont applied for the first patent US03642941 involving the synthesis of high molecular weight aromatic polyamides from aromatic diamines and aromatic diacyl halides, and disclosed for the first time the use of m-phenylenediamine/p-phenylenediamine, Isophthaloyl chloride, a method for preparing fibers by spinning a solution of dimethylacetamide containing lithium chloride. Before 1980, DuPont completed the research and industrial production of meta-aramid and para-aramid. With the industrialization of Teijin meta-aramid in Japan and the gradual development of aramid research in other countries, in order to consolidate the market, DuPont began to carry out large-scale patent layout in the field of aramid fiber since the 1980s. Entering the 21st century, the aramid fiber markets in South Korea and China are gradually rising, and DuPont has once again strengthened its aramid fiber patent layout system.
From a market perspective (see Table 1), before the industrialization of meta-aramid fiber, DuPont’s patent layout Concentrated in the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom, France and a few European countries; between 1967 and 1980, DuPont further expanded its patent layout in Europe and began patent layout in Canada and Japan; between 1981 and 2000, Aramid International The trend of global development is gradually emerging. DuPont has not only further consolidated its market position in the United States and strengthened its patent layout in Germany and Canada. Moreover, in the face of the rise of the aramid industry in Japan and South Korea, DuPont has also carried out a large number of patents in Japan and South Korea. layout, and also actively applies for overseas patents through the Paris Convention and PCT (Patent Cooperation Treaty). Entering the 21st century, with the rise of emerging markets in Asia, DuPont’s patent layout in overseas markets began to shift from Europe to Asia, focusing on Japan and China.�An improvement patent made by Shanghai Textile Control Patent CN02136060.X (see Table 3).
The monomer for preparing arylsulfone fiber is 3,3′-DDS or 4,4′-DDS, and DuPont’s patent layout in 2007 They all start from these two monomers and are mixed with other materials to form flame retardant, filtration, insulation and other materials. 14 of the above 17 patent families have similar patent families in China, and 7 patents remain valid in the fields of ventilation pipes, flame retardant materials, filter materials and aramid paper applications.
Due to DuPont’s intensive patent layout in the downstream of the arylsulfone industry chain, although Tylenon has patents, there is no problem in the upstream production of arylsulfone raw materials, but it has entered into the arylsulfone industry. The downstream industry of fiber optic fiber will be hindered, and relevant downstream companies cannot purchase the aramid sulfone fiber produced by Tylenon for production and use, otherwise it may infringe DuPont’s patent rights. This makes Tylenon ultimately unable to obtain the expected results. Sales Performance.
Suggestions on the patent layout of my country’s aramid companies
my country’s aramid companies While innovating hard and trying to overcome the technical and market barriers of foreign industry leaders, it is very important to effectively protect one’s own innovative technologies through patent layout. Based on the analysis of DuPont’s patent layout strategy, the author will carry out patent layout work for my country’s aramid companies Here are 4 suggestions: Know yourself and your enemy, and you will never be defeated in a hundred battles. Enterprises should make full use of existing patent technology information, search and analyze patent information, especially analyze the patents of industry leaders and competitors, understand the latest technology trends and competitors’ patent situations, and guide their own technology research and development and future patents. layout. For example, when searching for a patent that may infringe a competitor’s patent rights, the company should carry out reasonable circumvention design for the patented technology. Avoidance design can not only effectively avoid patent infringement, but also be an effective research and development method.
The soldiers and horses have not moved, but the food and grass have gone first. Patent layout is a planned and strategic patent mining and deployment behavior. When companies carry out patent layout, they should comprehensively consider technology development, product applications, market planning and other dimensions to form a “basic patent + peripheral patent” pattern. Comprehensive patent layout. In the practical operation of enterprises, it is necessary to formulate plans and processes for patent layout, and implement them strategically and step by step, rather than applying in a scattered and blind manner. For example, a patent application must be submitted before a product is put on the market to prevent information disclosure from destroying the novelty of the patent; a technical novelty search must be done before a patent application is made to avoid improperly drafted claims that cannot be authorized.
Aim at the market and grab patent positions. In development positioning, for target markets that are of greater concern, companies should have forward-looking thinking about patent layout, plan the focus of patent layout based on the technology and industrial development of the target market, and use patent layout to achieve key breakthroughs and seize the market.
Discover loopholes and contain them promptly. It is important to protect your own innovative technologies and products, but it is equally important to prevent competitors from expanding their market. You should pay attention to competitors’ patent layout in real time, discover the loopholes in competitors’ patent layout through analysis, and patent the loopholes of competitors. Layout can effectively curb competitors. </p
