One out of every three Android phones worldwide has an optical lens from Ningbo Sunny Optical Technology; More than 90% of sewing machine manufacturers worldwide prefer Ningbo DeYing Precision Machinery's rotary shuttle; Global high-precision machine tools, precision grinding tools, and component cutting wires, 40% of which are sourced from Ningbo Bode High tech... As the first city in China with over 100 manufacturing industry champions, Ningbo, Zhejiang has been leading the country for 8 consecutive years with 119 national level manufacturing industry champions. Opportunities and challenges coexist. With the development of the industry, new legal issues continue to emerge. How to prevent disputes at the source of enterprises and help them sail safely and overcome challenges? How to make judicial protection a "booster" for innovation in Ningbo's manufacturing industry? Starting from the resolution of the practical difficulties in the mobile lighting industry, the Intermediate People's Court of Ningbo City, Zhejiang Province, continuously explores the optimal path for judicial protection of innovative development in the manufacturing industry from a corner to a region. The development of the industry is facing difficulties. Xidian Town in Ninghai County is the core cluster area of China's mobile lighting industry and also the largest flashlight town level production base in the country. There are currently over 1200 flashlight related enterprises in the town, with an annual output value of up to 8 billion yuan, accounting for 70% of the same industry in the country. According to statistics, for every 10 flashlights exported from China, 6 to 7 are produced in Xidian Town. However, with the continuous expansion of the industry scale, intellectual property infringement disputes involving mobile lighting products are also increasing, becoming a pain point that restricts the innovation and development of the industry. Shuo Company, located in Xidian Town, has encountered such a problem. As a company that has been deeply involved in the field of mobile lighting for more than ten years, Shuo's company has developed and applied for a utility model patent for a multifunctional key light that is widely popular in the market due to its "exquisite design and practical function". In May 2021, the product was granted a utility model patent, but with it came the constant emergence of imitations in the market. In August 2025, Shuo Company discovered that the key lights produced and sold by three other enterprises in the town were highly similar to their patented products. Therefore, they filed a lawsuit with the Ningbo Intermediate People's Court, demanding that the three enterprises cease infringement and compensate for losses. The defendant argues that their product differs from the patent in question and does not constitute infringement. On the morning of September 26, 2025, a demonstration trial was publicly held in Xidian Town. A panel of three judges from the Ningbo Intermediate People's Court merged three related cases for trial. More than 30 representatives from member units of the Ningbo Lighting Industry Intellectual Property Alliance, the National People's Congress, relevant departments, and enterprises attended the trial throughout. During the trial, both parties engaged in a heated debate on whether the accused infringing product falls within the scope of protection of the patent in question. Which side's viewpoint should be adopted? In the face of disputes, the collegiate bench accurately summarizes the focus of the dispute, guides the parties to provide sufficient evidence, cross examine and debate, and introduces technical investigators to assist in clarifying professional technical facts. The investigation adopts a progressive approach of "technical dispute induction professional comparison argumentation factual conclusion determination". This demonstration trial not only demonstrated the professionalism and authority of intellectual property judicial protection, but also allowed the audience to intuitively understand the legal logic of intellectual property infringement judgment, strengthening their awareness of respecting innovation and avoiding infringement risks. We have chosen to conduct a demonstration trial in Xidian Town in order to guide local enterprises to operate in a standardized manner, prevent intellectual property disputes from the source, and promote industry development through trial and education. ”Shen Haidong, Executive Vice President of Ningbo Intermediate People's Court and presiding judge of the case, said. In the end, after mediation by the court, the three defendants promised to stop producing and selling the products involved in the case and compensate for the losses, and the dispute was successfully resolved. Although the case of a certain company has been resolved through a special action to break through the situation and solve difficulties, attention still needs to be paid to the path of industrial co governance. During the investigation, Ningbo Intermediate People's Court found that the experience of Shuo's company is not an isolated case. Products are prone to counterfeiting, infringement evidence is difficult to fix, rights protection costs are high, and rights protection cycles are long, which are common difficulties faced by many lighting companies. Some companies have even fallen into a vicious cycle of "infringement rights protection re infringement", which has become a "roadblock" restricting industrial transformation and upgrading. Enterprises have a voice, and the judiciary has a response. Shortly thereafter, a special symposium jointly organized by Ningbo Intermediate People's Court and Ningbo Municipal Administration for Market Regulation was held in Xidian Town. The Ningbo Mobile Lighting Association, representatives of the National People's Congress, and key enterprise representatives were invited to participate in in-depth discussions on how to strengthen industrial synergy protection, reduce rights protection costs, and promote dispute source governance. The voices of enterprise representatives have been actively responded to, including "cracking down on counterfeiting", "establishing a patent infringement risk warning mechanism", and "providing evidence collection guidance and one-stop rights protection services". After the symposium, Ningbo Intermediate People's Court issued a judicial suggestion to relevant units on "standardizing the intellectual property order of the mobile lighting industry", proposing specific measures from strengthening source supervision, carrying out targeted assistance, and improving diversified dispute resolution mechanisms. The Ningbo Lighting Industry Intellectual Property Alliance responded quickly, stating that it will work together with the court to promote the industry from "manufacturing agglomeration" to "innovation agglomeration" by strengthening legal publicity, establishing intellectual property workstations, and setting up the Ninghai County Intellectual Property Dispute Mediation Center. At present, Xidian Town has successfully resolved multiple disputes through special mediation organizations, achieving the goal of "resolving conflicts in the early stage without leaving the town" and vividly practicing the "Fengqiao Experience" of the new era. The special mediation organization and the special window for safeguarding rights in the circuit court are right beside us. Once we encounter infringement problems, we can quickly respond and protect our rights in a timely manner, which gives us more confidence in innovation! ”Recently, in the face of a follow-up visit from Judge Zhu Fang of the Intellectual Property Trial Chamber of Ningbo Intermediate People's Court, the person in charge of a mobile lighting enterprise in Xidian Town said. The "Champion City" is moving towards a "new" path, from handmade workshops to modern factories, from imitation manufacturing to independent research and development, and then to dominating the international market. The development process of a flashlight reflects the trajectory of transformation and upgrading of manufacturing enterprises in Ningbo. Behind this special action for judicial protection of intellectual property rights is a vivid portrayal of Ningbo courts' firm determination and solid actions to safeguard the high-quality development of Ningbo's manufacturing industry. Currently, facing the development needs of Ningbo accelerating the construction of a global advanced manufacturing base and continuously improving industrial level, how to prevent disputes from the source, stimulate enterprise innovation vitality, promote healthy and orderly development of the industry, and help Ningbo, the "champion city", firmly run towards the goal of "new quality city"? The Ningbo court responded with action. Stimulating the innovation vitality of enterprises, clear and stable legal expectations are key guarantees. ”Du Qian, Secretary of the Party Group and Acting President of the Ningbo Intermediate People's Court, told reporters that the court has issued an action plan to enhance judicial efficiency, serve and ensure high-quality development, and systematically standardize the construction of a rule of law business environment through 27 measures in five major actions; Carry out a special action to standardize law enforcement and judiciary related to enterprises, release typical cases related to enterprises, so that enterprises can truly take the "reassurance pill", dare to invest in research and development, and have the courage to explore and innovate. How to help enterprises discover problems and prevent risks in a timely manner? The Ningbo court has produced an analysis of the trial of intellectual property cases of national level manufacturing champion enterprises, to help them enhance their awareness of intellectual property judicial protection; Jointly signed the Memorandum of Cooperation on Preventing Foreign Intellectual Property Risks and Countering Foreign Sanctions in Ningbo with the Market Supervision Bureau, Commerce Bureau, China Council for the Promotion of International Trade and other departments, and launched the "Guoshang Sees the World" foreign-related legal tour salon to safeguard the safe export of enterprises; Continuously upgrading the digital application of "Out of Territory High Risk Legal Risk Inquiry Tips" has served over 100000 enterprises cumulatively. How to achieve source governance and diversified resolution of disputes involving enterprises? The Ningbo court actively guides various professional mediation forces to participate in resolving conflicts related to enterprises, and constructs a full process service model of "professional mediation+judicial confirmation+legal counseling"; In response to the frequent disputes in areas such as financial leasing and second-hand car sales, we actively promote the "1+1+X" type of dispute governance, and promote the resolution of enterprise related disputes in the industry and at the source through demonstration judgments, judicial suggestions, and other methods. The Ningbo court will rely on the dual advantages of the Ningbo Intellectual Property Court and the International Commercial Court to comprehensively enhance the level of specialized intellectual property trials, promote the construction of a collaborative intellectual property protection system, and enable innovation to flourish on this fertile land of Ningbo, providing strong judicial guarantees for the construction of a modern industrial system with Zhejiang characteristics. ”Du Qian said that in the future, Ningbo courts will work together with enterprises to move towards the "new" direction, and provide high-quality judicial services to safeguard Ningbo's manufacturing industry on the path of innovative development, steadily advancing and setting sail for a long time. (New Society)