Meitu： With a little finger, beauty comes
– Adhere to independent innovation and submit more than 800 patent applications
No makeup, want to take beautiful and moving makeup? The face is overweight, how can I create a perfect face shape? The skin tone is poor, what should I do if I dare not be photographed… Don’t worry, with just one click, these photography problems that have plagued beauty lovers can be easily solved. With the launch of Xiamen Meitu Network Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Meitu) series of beauty technology products, almost all kinds of mobile phones on the market are equipped with Meitu’s camera function, enabling people to enjoy beauty anytime, anywhere.
"Since its establishment, Meitu has always regarded technological innovation and patent layout as an important support for the development of the enterprise. At present, Meitu has submitted more than 800 patent applications at home and abroad, of which more than 80% are invention patent applications, and has formed a working model of’encouraging technological innovation and following up legal protection ‘." Chen Jinsong, senior legal director of Meitu, said that Meitu has always attached great importance to technological research and development, and patents have become a blockbuster weapon for Meitu, which will gain an advantage for its future participation in overseas market competition.
Focusing on innovation and enhancing patent strength
"With the continuous improvement of the social and economic level, people’s food, clothing, housing and transportation have been greatly satisfied, and more and more emphasis has been placed on the realization and improvement of self-worth. In order to conform to the development trend of society and meet the public’s pursuit of beauty, Meitu came into being." Chen Jinsong said that before this, similar retouching software had been available in the market, but these software were not only cumbersome to operate, but also relatively rough in terms of image beautification functions. Meitu Xiuxiu software just makes up for these problems, and can present a realistic and perfect retouching effect for the public with one click.
It is understood that since its establishment in 2008, Meitu has taken the research and development of software products as the starting point of the company’s business. With strong research and development capabilities, it has launched a variety of Meitu Internet products and occupied a large market share. With the continuous development of business, since 2012, Meitu has gradually tried to develop hardware products such as mobile phones, and systematically integrated software and hardware products to form effective data sharing. During this period, patents have played a crucial role in Meitu’s development.
Before 2012, Meitu’s patent applications were few, but by 2016, its patent applications had reached more than 800. These achievements reflect not only the company’s own high priority for patents, but also its unique patent management.
"In the early days of Meitu’s establishment, it established an intellectual property center in the legal department, with the aim of assisting relevant technology research and development departments in technology integration and patent mining." Chen Jinsong said that on the one hand, through the formulation of annual and quarterly patent research and development plans, the intellectual property center regularly invites patent agencies to jointly analyze and mine the company’s innovative technologies effectively, and avoids unnecessary legal risks by searching for global patents for technologies and helping to find similar patents. On the other hand, the company has also set up a corresponding patent reward mechanism for technology research and development personnel. Through the establishment of bonuses, job promotions, and performance appraisal, the enthusiasm of all employees to participate in technology research and development and patent protection is mobilized.
Technology is the cornerstone of enterprise development. In the process of development, Meitu not only increases its own technology research and development, but also gathers innovation capabilities and enhances patent strength through various channels. "In order to enhance market competitiveness, Meitu continuously expands and improves its own technology accumulation by purchasing some patents at home and abroad, and also enhances patent reserves by jointly investing and holding foreign enterprises." Chen Jinsong said that at present, Meitu is also actively cooperating with universities and scientific research units to increase technology research and development in related fields, so as to achieve integrated development of industry, education and research.
After years of accumulation, Meitu has so far received more than 400 patent applications, of which more than half are invention patents. Its core technologies mainly focus on image recognition and processing, image beautification display effects, and pixel resolution.
Relying on patents to participate in market competition
Patents are not for decoration, but to maximize their value, and Meitu knows this well. "When the company was just starting out, Meitu mainly focused on software products as its core business and paid more attention to the copyright field. But with the continuous expansion of its business scope, especially in the field of mobile phones, the importance of patents to the company’s development has become increasingly prominent." Chen Jinsong said that due to the support of a relatively deep patent reserve, Meitu has tasted the "sweetness" in the fierce market competition.
"In 2017, Meitu launched a brand-new limited-edition mobile phone for the beautiful girl, along with the beautiful girl wand selfie stick. This stylish and novel selfie stick was developed by Meitu from idea to design, and a design patent application was submitted around the product. Once it was released, it was well received by consumers. However, not long after the new product was launched, similar products appeared on the market. Meitu responded quickly to this situation and sent a lawyer’s letter to the e-commerce platform that sold its products. Then, the platform removed the relevant products from the shelves." Chen Jinsong said that this patent rights protection experience made Meitu more aware of the importance of patents to enterprises, and also inspired the enthusiasm of all employees for technological research and development.
In recent years, in addition to increasing investment in technology research and development, Meitu has also formed a rather unique cultivation concept in the field of intellectual property talent training. "Intellectual property has a very strict demand for talents, so the company adheres to the talent cultivation concept of’going in ‘and’going out’." Chen Jinsong introduced that the so-called "going in" means that the intellectual property team must not only have a comprehensive and in-depth understanding of laws, economics and patents, but also have a deep understanding of the company’s relevant technologies, and be able to accurately judge whether a technology can bring value to the company’s development; "going out" means that the intellectual property specialist must not only have the general capabilities to connect related businesses internally and obtain various patent information externally, but also actively participate in industry training to find technology research and development points for the company’s follow-up related technology excavation.
It is relying on comprehensive, scientific and efficient intellectual property management that Meitu has achieved remarkable results in recent years. In December 2016, Meitu was listed on the main board of Hong Kong, with a market value of more than 36 billion Hong Kong dollars, becoming the second largest Internet company after Tencent in market value. The operating income in the first half of 2017 was also significantly improved compared with 2016. "At present, Meitu imaging and community software products have been activated on 1.10 billion ** devices around the world." Chen Jinsong said that in the future, Meitu will continue to make efforts in the fields of intelligent electronic end points, community platforms and image processing to bring more beautiful enjoyment to the majority of users. (Intellectual Property News, Li Junlin)