None of the 22 Chinese E-Cigarette Brands Hold Core Patents

Juul is the most well-known representative of the atomized cigarette oil e-cigarette brand. Last year, its valuation exceeded US$38 billion and is an investment company under the Altria Group. American e-cigarette giant Juul is about to enter China and is secretly building a China team.

Juul applied for a patent in China in the name of PAX Laboratories.
 

There is currently only one patent with Pix Laboratory Company (PAX LABS, a producer of Juul) as the subject of application, mainly involving nicotine salt formulations for aerosol devices and methods thereof. A nicotine salt liquid formulation for generating inhalable aerosols in electronic cigarettes includes nicotine salts that form about 0.5% to about 20% nicotine.

This invention patent has not yet been officially granted.

Juul also applied for four patents in the name of Jul Laboratories Co., Ltd.

Patented is a charging device for electronic evaporation devices. The three patents still under substantive review are: on-demand portable convective evaporator; aerosol device with spacer material; and wickless vaporization device and method.

In terms of Trademark Registering, Juul applied for 111 related trademarks, including Juul, in the name of Juul Laboratories, Ltd., and obtained 65 trademark rights, including 34 categories of tobacco trademarks that were applied for in 2013, but the 35th category trademark related to the Internet and advertising was registered and obtained trademark rights by a Shenzhen company. The application date was August 2016.

Juul's domestic intellectual property applications are relatively comprehensive, including the core patent nicotine salt, the core trademark name Juul, and even the Chinese name Juul is already in the preliminary review process of trademark application.

Intellectual property rights include three rights: patent rights, copyright and trademark rights. Patent rights are divided into invention patents, utility model patents, and design patents. This article does not discuss copyright, but will summarize trademark rights.

Invention patents referred to in the Patent Law are divided into two categories: product inventions (such as machines, instruments, equipment and appliances, etc.) and method inventions (manufacturing methods).

A utility model patent refers to a new technical solution proposed for the shape, structure or combination of a product that is suitable for practical use. In the Patent Law, the creativity and technical level of utility models are lower than that of invention patents, and are also called small inventions or small patents.

Design patents refer to new designs that are aesthetically pleasing and suitable for industrial applications made to the shape, pattern or combination thereof of a product and the combination of color and shape and pattern.

The common understanding is that every e-cigarette can apply for a design patent for what it looks like. In fact, it cannot reflect the company's influence on the core components of e-cigarettes. However, a well-designed product can add points to the product and become a part of the brand's unique structure.

In terms of function, invention patents are greater than utility model patents.

We have screened 22 domestic brands for intellectual property surveys, mainly based on consumer-oriented brands, based on whether they have received financing or are already Internet celebrities. Supply chain companies will not be included in the discussion this time.
 

The information comes from the official trademark office search and the patent office information search, and is exclusively compiled by Blue Hole New Consumption. The data is as of May 14. If you miss anything, please add your assistant WeChat erdongmiddle to supplement it.

Some of the financing in the above table have not been officially confirmed. For example, companies such as Yueshi are said to have entered the third round of financing, but the official has not confirmed it.

We can see from the table that most e-cigarette brands are at the whiteboard stage in terms of patent applications, which is related to the company's short establishment time. It may also be that the company does not have core competitiveness in terms of e-cigarette patents.

Companies with at least one patent right include six companies: Yueshi, VPO, Blue Beast, Long Wu, Shanlan and Aizhuo, but most of the patents granted are design patents.

We separately checked the specific conditions of several companies that have obtained patent rights, and we will focus on screenshots and notes those involving invention patents.

Yue Ke has obtained 6 appearance patents, 1 utility model patent, and 1 invention patent (above) is in the substantive review stage.

Long Wu has obtained 2 design patents.

VPO has obtained 2 utility model patents and 1 design patent.

Blue Beast has obtained 2 invention patents, 12 design patents, 4 utility model patents, and one invention patent is under substantive review. This product only appears in various financing summary lists, but the actual brand voice is not large.

Shanlan has obtained a utility model patent. Shanlan, which was founded quite early, has no patent reserves in terms of technology, which is surprising.

Aizhuo has obtained 19 design patents and can be called a design maniac.

Among the above-mentioned companies, the focus is on Blue Beast and Yuexie. After all, several invention patents of these two companies have been granted or are under substantive review, but the originality of the relevant invention patents may need to be studied again.

Everyone is very active in applying for trademark rights. After all, in the new consumption era, the occupation of users 'minds by brands is very important. If the trademark names promoted by companies do not ultimately have trademark rights, it is likely to make a wedding for others.

Once Juul enters China, the nicotine salt patent will be a favorable means for Juul to curb domestic e-cigarette brands. Juul has a relatively comprehensive choice whether to crack down on and develop first or fatten before slaughtering.

However, judging from the practice of the Internet industry, intellectual property rights can be said to be the function of a moat and have little effect on attacking cities and seizing land. Take the shared charging treasure industry for example. Street Power is being sued by calls, but the products of Street Power still account for a lot of market share.

The more patents you have, the wider your moat, but it doesn't mean you can win the market lying down. Acquiring market share requires multiple rounds of marketing, brand, and product drives, as well as time windows and rapid execution.

In the short term, the e-cigarette industry is currently in the early stages of development in China, and the fact that many domestic brands can gain fame in a short period of time has proved the potential of domestic startups. In the long run, even if patents will become constraints, they will not be a short-term factor. Developing first, then governance, first enclosure, and then standardization is a relatively reliable choice for startups. From an extreme perspective, 99% of the companies in the industry do not have core patents, which actually means the temporary safety of individuals. If the sky falls, it will be the tall people who will bear the burden first. If there is an opportunity, they should seize the time first.

But the principle is that infringement of intellectual property rights is prohibited.

E-cigarette entrepreneurship has advanced from the stage of Internet celebrity brands to the stage of staking around the country. Whoever can seize the opportunity and quickly run out may gain more market share. For domestic e-cigarette brands, obtaining financing publicity, planning CEO's Internet celebrity temperament, and their own patent strength will bring brand exposure on the consumer side. Many Shenzhen brands have good strength, but their popularity is still not as good as the latest entrepreneurial e-cigarette brands. We believe that the core reason is that the traditional thinking of some companies making consumer goods has not changed. Sales channels are the core, but brand awareness will increase the trust of users and distribution channels in products.