On May 8, 2019, the China National Intellectual Property Administration (hereinafter referred as CNIPA) issued an invalidation decision No. 40102, declaring that all patent rights of utility model 201420326162.X, entitled "Dishwasher", which were owned by Midea were invalid.  So far, Midea's patent infringement lawsuit filed in court has been substantially reversed (This picture is for reference only and has nothing to do with the patent).

At the beginning of 2018, Midea filed a lawsuit with the Guangzhou Intellectual Property Court based on its three patent rights, asking Foshan Baisite to stop manufacturing and selling the three patented products and to compensate for the economic losses caused by them. The three patents were related to the heating pump, base layout and motor assembly of the dishwasher. The Guangzhou Intellectual Property Court had also made a judgment in first instance, that Baisite’s infringement of patent right was established, and ordered Baisite to compensate the plaintiff 1 million yuan, and to stop manufacturing and selling infringing products.

The invalidation decision No. 40102 issued by CNIPA was related to the patent-base layout. According to the relevant judicial interpretations, if Midea does not withdraw the infringement lawsuit filed in the court based on the patent, the court will rule to reject Midea's lawsuit. It was reported that the invalidation decision was the fourth invalidation request filed against the patent, bringing up the total number of the invalidation request to the eight.

According to the law, the patentee, who is dissatisfied with the invalidation decision, can file an administrative lawsuit request with the Beijing Intellectual Property Court within three months.

The detailed content of the invalidation decision can be found in the Annex: Invalidation Decision No. 40102.