For a long time, urban rail transit construction in China has been fraught with obstacles, and was once trapped in a vicious cycle of " persistently high costs", "core technologies being controlled by others", and "insufficient momentum for domestic technological innovation".
Since the 1990s, in order to break down barriers to innovation and improve the situation where "economic development was constrained by transportation bottlenecks", China's railway authorities have vigorously developed advanced manufacturing industries, represented by the rail transit equipment sector, and progressively carried out research on fundamental theories and key technologies for high-speed rail. To date, substantial experience in independent technological development and vast amounts of scientific research and test data have been accumulated. The "Fuxing" EMU, officially launched in 2017, can be described as a "Chinese icon" with truly complete independent intellectual property rights, embodying the great vision of countless railway researchers.
Breaking the Patent Dilemma of High-Speed Rail Brake Pads
In the phase of designing technical solutions for the "Fuxing" EMU, it was imperative to strictly adhere to principles such as safety and reliability, simplification, standardization, and unification, serialization, economic efficiency, energy conservation, and environmental protection. Also, it was required to intensify innovation efforts in areas like safety redundancy, and to achieve breakthroughs in optimizing the paths of key technologies and patent portfolio planning. Particularly in braking, a crucial question was how to ensure that the "Fuxing" EMU, with a total weight of over 500 tons in its 8-car formation, could balance high speed with high stability while maintaining a safe emergency braking distance within 6,500 meters at an operational speed of 350 km/h. The patent research and technological promotion of high-speed rail brake pads played a vital role in this regard.
At that time, the railway industry faced three main dilemmas. First, the wear-and-tear nature of brake pad materials meant that fluctuations in their individual prices directly impacted the overall operating costs of high-speed trains. Second, before 2012, high-speed rail brake pads were under foreign patent protection, forcing China to rely entirely on imported products, with annual import costs reaching as high as RMB 4 billion. Third, the drawbacks of imported brake pads extended beyond high prices to include long delivery cycles, untimely supply, and poor after-sales service. Therefore, breaking free from foreign control over core technologies, removing the constraints of key component imports, and achieving localization for critical high-speed rail components like brake pads had become essential tasks for EMU operations.
In 2013, Beijing Tianyishangjia New Material Corp., Ltd., through continuous build-up in R&D technology and patent achievements, gained a first-mover advantage in the industry, becoming the first to achieve localization of powder metallurgy brake pads. After undergoing a series of review mechanisms, Tianyishangjia stood out among numerous suppliers and became a key supplier of brake pads for the "Fuxing" EMU. Simultaneously, Tianyishangjia was well aware of the importance of patent technology strategy for enterprises with sci-tech innovation attributes. At its inception, Tianyishangjia invited Sunshine IP to participate in the overall planning and construction of its intellectual property framework. Both parties reached a consensus early on: whether in IP defense, competition, or operation, the path to advanced patent strategy development inevitably involves a transition from quantity to quality, which directly determines an enterprise's ability to command market influence and lead the industry.
In terms of technologies and patents, brake pads must possess a stable friction coefficient and excellent heat resistance, ensuring that braking performance does not degrade significantly under prolonged exposure to 300–400°C or instantaneous temperatures of 900–1,000°C. They must also have sufficient mechanical strength to avoid deformation, fracture, detachment, or other damage under extreme conditions. During braking and after stopping, the pad material must not shift, cause cracks in the brake disc, and should feature a special structure to mitigate impact. The friction block, as the most critical component of the brake pad and the core element determining braking performance, requires the application of innovative powder metallurgy technology, where specific materials undergo processes such as compression molding and high-temperature pressure sintering. Additionally, the operational requirements at varying speeds impose differentiated demands on the detailed parameters of brake pads, further testing the patent technology capabilities of manufacturers, as well as their patent qualifications and ability to integrate upstream and downstream operations.
Seizing First-Mover Advantage, Advancing Patent Portfolio Planning Early
Tianyishangjia's innovative research and large-scale production of brake pads have, on one hand, broken the technological monopoly of foreign companies, filled the technological gap in domestic brake pads, achieved complete self-reliance, domestic production and global supply of high-speed train brake pads, significantly reduced the operating costs of high-speed trains, and accelerated the localization process for core components in China's high-speed rail EMUs. On the other hand, it has significantly promoted the export of core technologies and key components for China's high-speed rail, while also having a profound impact on enhancing the R&D capabilities, technical approaches, and industry process levels of domestic sectors related to high-speed rail brake pads.
In terms of breaking the import constraints on key components, what preliminary work did Sunshine IP do for Tianyishangjia?
1. As Tianyishangjia 's exclusive intellectual property service provider, Sunshine IP conducted extensive work in establishing the company's early-stage foundational IP infrastructure, assisting Tianyishangjia in designing a comprehensive and systematic framework across patent mining, trademark registration, copyright management, product R&D, patent portfolio planning, and IPO guidance, thereby constructing a robust intellectual property barrier. Sunshine IP has also provided regular patent training services for Tianyishangjia for several consecutive years. As the company has grown and expanded, these trainings have enabled new employees to quickly enhance their patent awareness, while allowing existing employees to gain updated and deeper insights into the value protection and utilization of patents, thereby better facilitating subsequent work.
2. Furthermore, regarding the export of technologies from "new materials enterprises", Sunshine IP customized a solution for building an overseas intellectual property risk early warning system for Tianyishangjia. This involved PCT international patent applications, Madrid international trademark applications, and the design and implementation of intellectual property protection efforts under the "Belt and Road" Initiative. Leveraging funding from government early warning projects, Sunshine IP comprehensively assessed infringement risks, further facilitating the global layout of brake pad products and providing the capability to mitigate risks for the export and promotion of China's high-speed rail technology abroad.
As a technology-driven innovative enterprise with outstanding comprehensive advantages in the "rail transit equipment industry", Tianyishangjia possesses mature customer relationships, stable upstream and downstream industrial chains, and independently developed core technologies. Coupled with the intellectual property management system designed by Sunshine IP, Tianyishangjia successfully went public on the Science and Technology Innovation Board (STAR Market) in 2019. Tianyishangjia has demonstrated a significant driving effect on independent innovation, international innovation competitiveness, and the development of related technology industries within China's high-end equipment manufacturing sector.
The rail transit equipment industry, as a strategic emerging industry, has consistently received strong support from the state. Tianyishangjia's rapid development serves as an important reference for the entire industry, benefiting from the following two points. First, Tianyishangjia has firmly seized opportunities in technological evolution and industrial development, adhered to an innovation-driven approach and leveraged its own growth to propel industry advancement. Second, Sunshine IP has provided comprehensive intellectual property services as a long-term partner, and played a vital role in helping Tianyishangjia build its capabilities in IP creation and protection, thereby further accelerating the development of China's rail transit industry and opening up broader development prospects for the sector.
