Intellectual property builds industry barriers, innovation leads the way to the future

In the wave of digital transformation of thousands of businesses around the world, intellectual property rights have become a core element of an enterprise's comprehensive competitiveness and an important yardstick for measuring an enterprise's innovation capabilities. Looking back on the twenty-one years from 2004 to 2025, Zhouming Technology has grown from a start-up team in a corner of Shenzhen to a leading company in revenue in the LED industry. During this long development journey, Zhouming Technology has always adhered to the concept of independent innovation and continuous innovation, elevated intellectual property rights to the level of corporate strategic development, and relied on a series of practical innovation results to continuously inject new vitality into the development of the industry. As of the end of 2024, Zhouming has won a total of 3231 patents and successfully built an indestructible intellectual property "moat".
1. Difficult decisions to lay the foundation for intellectual property strategy
At the beginning of its business, Zhouming Technology resolutely embarked on the t* but extremely correct path of "independent innovation". In 2008, China's LED industry encountered its first "337 investigation" in the United States, and six China companies including Zhouming Technology were at the center of the storm. At that time, if he chose to respond, Zhou Ming, who had only been established for four years and was in a critical period of rapid development, would have to bear tens of millions of yuan in legal fees, and the financial pressure would be huge. If he gave up, it would undoubtedly mean that China's LED products would completely lose the U.S. market, which would be a disaster for the fledgling China LED industry.
At the critical moment, Zhouming Technology and another China company stepped forward and resolutely responded to the lawsuit. After unremitting efforts, an advantageous settlement was finally reached and the dignity and rights of China's LED industry were successfully defended. In 2018, another round of litigation storm swept through the United States. Zhouming Technology quickly dispatched backbones in various fields such as legal affairs, intellectual property rights, R & D and marketing to form a "337 Project Team", and took the initiative to join forces with several friends and businessmen to jointly respond to the lawsuit. In this difficult lawsuit, the team fully proved to the ITC of the United States that the relevant technology was independently developed and used first, and finally successfully won the lawsuit.
After this tough battle, Zhouming Technology deeply realized the importance and urgency of building an enterprise intellectual property offensive and defensive system, and further strengthened its determination to invest in construction. In 2024, Zhouming Technology's R & D investment will reach 376 million yuan, accounting for 4.84% of revenue; the R & D team will exceed 1120 people, close to one-fifth of all employees. Zhou Ming has always believed that only by leading the industry based on independent and controllable core technologies can enterprises gain a firm foothold and make steady progress in the fierce market competition.
2. Core technologies are independently controllable and solid technical barriers are forged
In recent years, the LED industry has ushered in the Mini/Micro LED technology revolution, and the industry's technical threshold has been greatly raised. Faced with this challenge, Zhouming Technology unswervingly follows the technological research path of "independently controllable, and opening up the entire chain" and achieves major breakthroughs in multiple key dimensions:
Massive transfer technology: Successfully realized Micro LED 30/50 micron ×50/70 micron substrateless technology 0202 (0.2mm×0.2mm) chip packaging, and successfully mass-produced P0.4MIP display products. At the same time, the huge transfer yield of Zhouming MIP production line exceeded 99.995%, significantly reducing the transfer cost per unit chip, and making significant progress in technical cost control.
COB/MIP dual technology routes develop in parallel: Zhouming Technology independently develops die fixation hybrid coding algorithm and EBL multilayer optical packaging technology to build a product matrix covering all indoor and outdoor scenarios. The COB crystal solidification yield exceeds 99.999%, and the comprehensive product yield reaches more than 98%. Equipped with the company's unique UIV image quality engine and self-developed control system, the screen energy-saving effect is improved by about 50%, and the reliability of lamp beads is improved by about 10 times. In 2024, the company's COB&MIP products will account for 13% - 15% of the display business, becoming an important force driving business growth.
AI + optical display integration innovation: Independently developed the Mont Blanc AI image quality engine, deeply embedded AI algorithms into the LED display control system, and performed well in color reproduction, motion compensation, dynamic contrast optimization, etc., leading the industry average. Multiple sets of stage visual effects and virtual IP images independently produced by Zhouming's digital content team have been widely used on online and offline platforms such as CCTV Spring Festival Gala and Hangzhou Wensan Digital District. The company has also actively launched a series of AI + LED innovative products such as AI holographic companion assistants, meta-universe fish tank screens, as well as AI security broadcast control solutions and other achievements, continuing to expand the application boundaries of LED display technology.
Breakthroughs in sound-transparent LED movie screen technology: Zhouming Technology teamed up with China Film Science and Technology to successfully develop the world's first sound-transparent LED movie screen, and successfully passed DCI certification, filling the gap in the industry. At the same time, it leads the construction of LED domestic movie screen standards and brings new visual experience solutions to the film industry.
Behind these technical achievements is an independent technology chain that comprehensively covers hardware and software to content and interactive ecology. It is a technical barrier and a complete intellectual property layout built from Zhouming's thousands of key patents, which provides Zhouming Technology with a significant advantage in market competition.
3. Challenges and hidden concerns in market competition
Although Zhouming Technology has made remarkable achievements in intellectual property and technological innovation, it still faces many challenges in a complex and ever-changing market environment:
Competition in the industry is becoming increasingly fierce: As the LED display market continues to develop, more and more companies are increasing investment in R & D and trying to achieve breakthroughs in technological innovation. In addition to the continuous efforts of traditional competitors, some cross-border companies are also involved in the LED display industry by relying on their accumulated technological and resource advantages in other fields, further exacerbating the intensity of market competition. In cutting-edge technology fields such as Mini/Micro LED, international giants such as Samsung and LG occupy a dominant position in the high-end market with their strong R & D strength and brand influence; many domestic companies are also accelerating their pursuit and constantly launching competitive products.