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Intellectual property and patent protection has become increasingly critical to companies doing business in China, where IP theft is a big problem.
On May 25 of this year, Toray Industries Inc. (Tokyo) filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Ningbo Solatron Technology Co. Ltd. in Shenzhen Intermediate People’s Court. Toray is claiming infringement of its Chinese patent on Lumirror polyester film and is seeking an injunction barring sales and production of white film relating to LCD backlight reflectors and collection of damages for past infringement.
Toray’s patent covers polyester films that have features of stiffness, surface shape and cushion properties. The polyester films for reflectors that Toray produces—the “Lumirror” E6D8 series, for example—are based on patented technologies, including the Chinese patent, and are widely used in edge backlight type LCDs all over the world, according to Toray’s information.
To further protect its IP in China, on Aug. 23, 2017, Toray anno..

Brazil-based Braskem (São Paulo), said to be the Americas’ largest thermoplastic resin producer, has finalized a deal with NASA supplier Made In Space Inc. (Jacksonville, FL) to develop the first recycling technology to be used on space missions in zero gravity.
Image of the International Space Station courtesy NASA. The agreement, which was finalized in October, will continue the collaboration between the two companies, which previously resulted in the first use of commercial 3D printing technology in space. This innovative technology revolutionized space manufacturing by enabling astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) to fabricate mission-critical tools and spare parts on-demand from Braskem’s I’m Green biobased resin made from sugarcane.
The recycler, which is slated to reach the ISS in the second half of 2018, will complete the plastic lifecycle by allowing astronauts to convert plastic packaging and objects previously fabricated by the 3D printer into feedstock ..