The Hangzhou Intermediate Court recently issued a judgment in a patent dispute case, ruling that the lawsuit filed by Luweimei Company against Unitree Robotics constituted malicious litigation and required compensation for the other party’s legal fees. This case drew widespread attention as it involved a technology innovation enterprise during a critical period of its IPO.
Background: In July 2025, Luweimei Company sued another product from Unitree Robotics during its IPO tutoring period, claiming patent infringement. The amount of compensation claimed was “unreasonable” and they applied for on-site investigations, among other things. Previously, Luweimei had sued Unitree, alleging another of its product using the same patent, but the case had been dismissed by the court.
Judgment: On February 4, 2026, the Hangzhou Intermediate Court ruled that Unitree Robotics’ product did not constitute infringement; Luweimei Company was found to have engaged in malicious litigation and was ordered to fully compensate Unitree Robotics for its legal fees.
The Court Finds:
1. The plaintiff had a “history” of abusing litigation rights: Luweimei Company and its related parties had filed over 20 patent lawsuits, with claimed amounts ranging from CNY 1 to 10 billion (the latter was withdrawn due to unpaid fees), none of which were successful.
2. The actions had improper purposes: Despite previous experience with losing cases, the plaintiff chose to sue again during the critical IPO period of the competitor, using the same patent and an unreasonably high compensation claim, and applied for investigative preservation, intending to disrupt its normal operations.
3. Violation of the principle of good faith: Their actions deviated from the institutional spirit of intellectual property protection and constituted an abuse of rights. (Mar. 2, 2026, IPcode)
Background: In July 2025, Luweimei Company sued another product from Unitree Robotics during its IPO tutoring period, claiming patent infringement. The amount of compensation claimed was “unreasonable” and they applied for on-site investigations, among other things. Previously, Luweimei had sued Unitree, alleging another of its product using the same patent, but the case had been dismissed by the court.
Judgment: On February 4, 2026, the Hangzhou Intermediate Court ruled that Unitree Robotics’ product did not constitute infringement; Luweimei Company was found to have engaged in malicious litigation and was ordered to fully compensate Unitree Robotics for its legal fees.
The Court Finds:
1. The plaintiff had a “history” of abusing litigation rights: Luweimei Company and its related parties had filed over 20 patent lawsuits, with claimed amounts ranging from CNY 1 to 10 billion (the latter was withdrawn due to unpaid fees), none of which were successful.
2. The actions had improper purposes: Despite previous experience with losing cases, the plaintiff chose to sue again during the critical IPO period of the competitor, using the same patent and an unreasonably high compensation claim, and applied for investigative preservation, intending to disrupt its normal operations.
3. Violation of the principle of good faith: Their actions deviated from the institutional spirit of intellectual property protection and constituted an abuse of rights. (Mar. 2, 2026, IPcode)