Bridgestone wins lawsuit against Chinese tire manufacturer

Bridgestone Corporation announced today that the Beijing Intellectual Property Court has ruled affirmatively in its patent infringement lawsuit against Chinese tire manufacturer Shandong Vheal Group Co., Ltd.

The lawsuit was filed by Bridgestone in September 2017. According to the Japanese manufacturer, Vheal manufactured and sold truck tires that used the patented Bridgestone R118 tread pattern. Following the proceedings, the court granted Bridgestone's claim and ordered Vheal to cease activities that infringe on the company's patent rights, and to pay Bridgestone compensation in the amount of RMB 500,000 (approximately $ 76,400).

The R118 truck tire tread pattern was developed by Bridgestone for China and other Asian markets.

Earlier, Bridgestone had already won a lawsuit for illegal copying of the tread pattern of an R118 tire, at which time the Japanese manufacturer accused the large Chinese tire company Fangxing Rubber Co., Ltd. of patent infringement.