The Dutch SME Wuvio is a market leader in producing chemicals to combat dust for construction sites, energy producers, mining and dry bulk companies. Wuvio works with unique solutions, using innovative mixtures of chemicals, or chemical compounds, developed in-house. The company had been active in Europe for 11 years when they decided it was time to make the move to China. As unique solutions for industrial processes combined with innovative chemical compounds require a structured approach to IPR, we spoke with Rob te Braake, Wuvio representative in China to share his experiences and give some practical tips for any business looking to protect this kind of intellectual property portfolio.

“The first time Wuvio went to China was in 2008, joining a Dutch trade mission”, Rob says. “This visit was successful, so the company went to China a few more times but without concrete results. No orders came in, which surprised them because all meetings with potential Chinese business partners went well”. Wuvio found that doing business in China is not as straightforward as in Europe, so they decided to team up with SDS Ventures, a China technology investment company working in the fields of strategic advisory and execution. Rob: “We first set up a limited company in Hong Kong in 2011, and then branched out into Mainland China in 2013.”

“Many companies active in the same industry claim to offer what we offer, but are either not as effective, more expensive or not biodegradable. This gives us a strong advantage in China”, Rob states confidently. “If you have an innovative and unique product, it is definitely worth exploring opportunities for market access in China, but you need to be very careful as innovative and unique products require a clearly defined IP strategy.”

Trade secrets are key

Wuvio carefully developed a Chinese trade mark and registered this in China, but according to Rob, the most important part of the company’s IP strategy are their trade secrets: “We have no patents registered in Europe or in China, because we don’t want our chemical solutions to become available for the public in 20 years. We also don’t like to depend on enforceable rights because as an SME we simply don’t have the resources to keep chasing infringements. Prevention is key for us.”

“Our protection consists of several confidential measures that Wuvio takes in order to keep the valuable information in-house”, Rob continues. “Even the chief representative in China does not know all the details about the formulas. We are currently importing the products from the Netherlands, but even when we will produce in China, we will keep producing the critical components in the Netherlands. We will always keep the production of these components in the Netherlands, because they are key to our products. We’ve checked ourselves if the formula of our solutions can easily be retrieved through reverse engineering, but successive attempts have not been successful. I am therefore confident that our solutions are adequately protected this way.”

Know your partners

In addition to this, Rob stresses that it is very important to only work with reliable employees and business partners: “Know who you are working with. Rely on your network to find employees and business partners, as Chinese networks are long-term and reliable. Always screen new employees and partners before giving away any valuable information, and don’t give more information than strictly needed.” He adds that key to success is treating employees and business partners well: “For example, the labour contracts of your employees should include incentive structures that align employee performance with company performance and discourage them to go the competitor with your valuable information.”

As a final recommendation, Rob says that it’s important to work with a qualified lawyer that knows the Chinese IP system, and that doing business in China requires a long breath: “Getting familiar with the Chinese business world, cultural differences and the distance between your head office in Europe and the office in China may be difficult at first, but you will get used to it as you go. You just need to be confident and find the right people to work with.”

Curious about the innovative solutions Wuvio is developing? Learn more by visiting the company’s website.

For more information about patent protection and trade secrets in China, read the Helpdesk’s publications “Guide to Patent Protection in China” and “Guide to Protecting your Trade Secrets in China”.