Characteristics and Trends of the U.S. Clean Energy Patent Litigations and Its Implications for China

In the clean energy race, patent litigation is not only the judicial relief for the protection of intellectual property rights, but also a commercial means to restrict competitors to enter the new energy market. Powerful multinationals are the main participants in green patent litigations; ITC 337 investigation combined with patent infringement lawsuits is the major strategy in clean energy patent litigation; antitrust litigation is an effective means to fight against patent litigation abuse; the judicial determination on prior art is still the focus of clean energy patent disputes; the expertise of federal judges is enhanced to hear the new patent cases. By analyzing the patent litigations between General Electric and Mitsubishi in the wind turbine industry to discuss the characteristics and trends of the U.S. clean energy patent litigations, this study attempts to provide some references to China’s enterprises and policy makers in participation of clean energy race and clean energy patent litigations.