Chinese manufacturer publicly apologizes to Hypertherm Associates for infringing on its consumable patents

HANOVER, N.H.—September 20, 2023 — Hypertherm Associates, manufacturer of industrial cutting systems and software, announced that Chinese aftermarket consumables manufacturer, Changzhou Yingsiman Welding and Cutting Technology Co., Ltd. has apologized for multiple counts of patent infringement.

Earlier this year, Hypertherm Associates filed suit against the Chinese company ("Yingsiman"; Chinese name: “英思曼焊割科技（常州）有限公司. As part of a settlement agreement reached between the parties, Yingsiman officially apologized to Hypertherm Associates for infringing on its consumable patents for the XPR®, HPR® and Powermax® product lines. They also paid Hypertherm Associates damages and signed an Undertaking stating that they will not infringe on Hypertherm Associates’ intellectual property rights going forward. If they do infringe, they agree to pay liquidated damages. 

Changzhou Yingsiman is a well-known manufacturer located in Changzhou, Jiangsu Province, China which is a hub for counterfeit and patent infringing aftermarket companies. Culturally, a signed public apology is a significant admission and is considered debasing to the company making the apology. 

In the past, Changzhou Yingsiman was a significant manufacturer and seller of counterfeit Hypertherm® consumables. After a counterfeit raid in 2018 by Chinese police, the owner/manager, a husband-wife combination, were sent to prison and the company was forced to pay a fine. After returning from prison, the couple returned to manufacturing aftermarket Hypertherm consumables, but this time without the Hypertherm trademark.

At the Beijing Essen show in 2021, we found that they were still offering aftermarket Hypertherm consumables, and eight of those parts were infringing Hypertherm Associates' Chinese patents. In 2021, a notarized purchase of consumable samples was made covering Spring electrode, Dual Flow Regulator, True Flow, PowerPierce, HyAmp nozzle design, and HyAmp shield patents.
In 2022, Hypertherm Associates made another notarized purchase from Changzhou Yingsiman in which revealed that they were manufacturing XPR electrodes and nozzles. 

After fully preparing the evidence, Hypertherm Associates filed a group of lawsuits for patent infringement against Changzhou Yingsiman in April 2023. As Chinese law requires a separate lawsuit for each asserted patent, we sued for infringement of three invention patents and five design patents in Suzhou, China. Two court hearings were held, and their bank account was frozen by the court. Changzhou Yingsiman requested a settlement. The parties agreed to the terms provided above and Hypertherm Associates is dismissing the case. 

Contact: Denise Champagne @denise.champagne@hypertherm.com

Hypertherm Associates is a U.S. based manufacturer of industrial cutting products and software. Its products, including Hypertherm plasma and OMAX waterjet systems, are used by companies around the world to build ships, airplanes, and railcars; construct steel buildings, fabricate heavy equipment, erect wind turbines, and more. In addition to cutting systems, the company creates CNCs and software trusted for performance and reliability that result in increased productivity and profitability for hundreds of thousands of businesses. Founded in 1968, Hypertherm Associates is a 100 percent Associate-owned company, employing approximately 2,000 Associates, with operations and partner representation worldwide. Learn more at https://www.HyperthermAssociates.com.