RELX Has Filed Over 170 Patent Applications, More Than 50% Are Invention Patents

According to reports, as of October 16, RELX has filed over 170 patent applications globally, of which 33 are publicly searchable, and more than 50 have been submitted for overseas patent review. This means that RELX has become the independent electronic cigarette brand with the most patent applications in China.

China is the world's largest producer (accounting for 95% of the global share) and exporter (accounting for 90% of the global share) of electronic cigarettes. The domestic electronic cigarette industry holds a large number of patents, but most of these patents are held by OEMs and other supply chain-related companies. Since early 2018, a group of independent electronic cigarette brands led by RELX has emerged, marking a new role in the patent landscape of the electronic cigarette industry.

According to insiders at RELX, 75% of the patent applications were filed in the six months from May 2019 to the present, averaging about five new patent applications submitted each week.

Previously, RELX gained public attention due to its rapidly growing market share. According to data from the well-known market research firm Euromonitor, RELX accounted for 44% of the domestic electronic cigarette market in the first half of this year, surpassing the combined total of brands ranked 2 to 10. Additionally, according to internal estimates from RELX, its domestic market share had exceeded 60% by August 2019.

Moreover, some of RELX's long-term strategies are happening beneath the surface. Since its establishment in early 2018, RELX has launched four electronic cigarette products and continues to increase investment in product and supply chain R&D. RELX's founder and CEO, Wang Ying, stated that the company's investment in R&D will be "unlimited" in the future.

Wang Ying stated: "We hope to promote technological progress in the electronic cigarette industry and translate this into products that benefit users, truly achieving 'good smoking, worry-free enjoyment.'"

It is reported that over 50% of the patents filed by RELX are classified as invention patents. According to the implementation rules of China's patent law, "invention patents" refer to new technical solutions proposed for products, methods, or their improvements, and are the most strictly reviewed and highest in technical content among patents.

Among the more than 170 patent applications submitted by RELX, the patent content covers various aspects such as atomization principles, overall design, mouthpieces, atomizers, pods, electronic control, intelligence, e-liquid formulas, and additives, involving core dimensions of electronic cigarette R&D and production. The main value of these patents is concentrated on improving product quality and ensuring safety.

For example, in terms of product safety, RELX has incorporated self-limiting temperature components into the electronic circuit to reduce the risk of overheating in the pods. This solution also ensures that the e-liquid atomization heating temperature remains at a constant value, reducing harmful substances in the vapor.

Taking the nicotine content of e-liquids, for instance, RELX has obtained experimental data and related patent applications to reduce nicotine content to below 2%, which can help smokers effectively reduce their dependence on nicotine and improve their experience.

In the smart electronic cigarette product launched in August 2019, RELX integrated a circuit board into the pod, opening up a digital and intelligent channel for pod information and data traceability. This technology has now been applied to smart control of smoking volume.

According to insiders, RELX is accelerating the progress of a large number of patent-related work, and in the coming months, more patent applications will be submitted for approval by relevant departments.

The number of patents directly reflects a company's innovation strength and serves as a moat for long-term development. In recent years, the overall scale of the electronic cigarette industry has grown significantly, but progress in innovation and R&D has been unsatisfactory.

Building independent R&D capabilities is a long-term investment. However, currently, the common practice among some electronic cigarette brands is to take shortcuts: to quickly launch products and capture market share, many brands choose to find OEMs for "private labeling" to achieve rapid production, without any independent testing capabilities for product safety. This has led to many electronic cigarettes on the market having varying capabilities in product R&D and definition, with issues such as excessive formaldehyde, discrepancies with ingredient labels, oil leakage, and dry burning becoming increasingly severe, posing significant threats to consumer health and experience.

RELX co-founder and supply chain head Wen Yilong believes that the current stage of the electronic cigarette industry is similar to the mobile phone industry ten years ago: "Ten years ago, the mobile phone industry was also mixed, where spending 5 million could create a mobile phone brand, but some responsible leading companies guided the mobile phone industry from its inception to stability and growth."

RELX has completed a closed-loop layout in R&D, production, and testing, demonstrating collaborative R&D capabilities. For example, the RELX Lingdian product took 381 days of R&D time, 91 days of long-cycle testing, 23 versions of DOE validation, 6 rounds of user research and internal testing, and the loss of over 13,900 engineering samples to improve its oil leakage prevention capabilities to the industry's top level. #p#分页标题#e#

Wen Yilong stated: "99% of electronic cigarette brand companies have R&D supply chain teams with no more than 10 people. In contrast, RELX has a team of over 150 people dedicated to this work."

Wang Ying stated that RELX has no limits on investment in two areas: one is the team, and the other is R&D.

To focus on innovation, in early 2019, RELX invested over 20 million yuan to establish the RELX laboratory. The important mission of this laboratory is to conduct innovative R&D related to electronic cigarettes. RELX has also collaborated with external institutions such as the Shenzhen Advanced Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences to conduct basic research related to harm reduction in electronic cigarettes and has gradually achieved research results.

While continuously increasing R&D investment, RELX has established a deeply controlled supply chain and quality management system. In the third quarter of this year, it launched the world's largest dedicated electronic cigarette factory, ensuring that as the market scale grows rapidly, it continues to provide stable and reliable product quality.

At the same time, RELX is also cracking down on counterfeiting, patent infringement, and other incidents. In the "Golden Shield Action" launched in the first half of 2019, RELX, supported by big data and technology, collaborated with police and regulatory agencies to seize nearly 30,000 sets of non-compliant offline products and filed complaints to remove nearly 3,300 links to counterfeit and substandard products on major online e-commerce platforms.

The electronic cigarette industry is currently in the early stages of its industry cycle, with participants being mixed. Many brands are adopting a strategy of "develop first, regulate later" for rapid expansion, which will have unpredictable negative impacts. As the market continues to develop, consumers' increasing focus on health and quality will make it an irreversible trend for electronic cigarette brands to enhance their R&D layout in terms of product stability, safety, and user experience.

RELX hopes to lead the electronic cigarette industry transformation through technological innovation, promoting industry progress. "This will require a significant capital investment, but in the long run, it will raise the industry's costs and barriers to entry," Wang Ying stated. "We believe that by persisting until the 'turning point' arrives, electronic cigarettes will become a mainstream and legitimate industry. Ultimately, consumers will benefit."