PolyU patented mask with anti bacterial magnetic field stolen and swapped with patentless masks by government 

(08 May)Carrie Lam, the CE, along with other senior officials and HKRITA management had a press conference this Tuesday, and provided update on CU masks’ distribution status, and remarked that this outcome is “all thanks to the effort from those who received 800 million subsidy from the government’s Anti-epidemic fund”. Alfred Sit, the secretary for Innovation and technology, described the CU mask as a “locally developed and used” mask, and is a product “from the coordinated development between government and scientific labs, using the resource from Anti-epidemic and improving techniques within short period of time for earlier use of the public.” He said, the mask’s patent design was developed in 2017 by HKRITA, and was funded by the Innovation and Technology fund. It was awarded the gold medal in the Geneva International Exhibition of Inventions.

On the press conference, all attendants wore the CU masks, and the organiser specifically showcased the medal next to the masks. 

Yet, the CU mask is not related to the awarded patent techniques at all. HKRITA is a nonprofit organization funded by the government, and operated by PolyU. When we check the project database on HKRITA’s website, there are only 2 development projects relating to face masks, among them “the development of reusable and comfort face masks as a barrier to Microorganisms” is similar to what the officials put forward. And the project which was subsidized HKD1.28M, and lasted from 2017 Mar to 2019 January was awarded gold medal in the 46th Geneva International Exhibition of Inventions (2018). And two patents are held, either approved or pending, in both PRC and USA. The patent application number is the same as the government’s CU masks application site. 

Expert says that the government is making false statement.

According to the patent documents, the parent technology is about inserting a thin magnetic sheet, to create a weak magnetic field that changes the Trajectory of particles in the air so the fabric can filter the particles. The awarded mask only consists of 3 layers and can be washed for 10 to 20 items. According to the description that time, the mask can prevent inhaling of air pollutants, while all these elements were missing in the CU masks. The CU mask has 6 layers, and uses bronze surface, which prevents bacterial survival as antibacterial material. In other words, the weak magnetic field facemask and the CU mask are not the same product, and thus CU masks does not deploy the same awarded technology and is not supported by the relevant patented technology. The bureau is misleading its citizens. 

Regarding this deviation from awarded technology, HKRITA officials claimed that the CU masks is the improved version of the 2017 mask, while Dr. K Kwong (famous chemistry instructor) criticized such behavior as “Disinformation, misleading and cheating. How are these two the same? There is no similarity between the technology deployed. The government, claiming this, is giving a false statement.” 

A textile industry insider reckons that the government had difficulty in procuring the raw materials used in the patented masks, such as magnets, so they altered the design without testing it again. When asked whether CU mask is a shoddy product, the insider replied “maybe the government is gambling, and thinks that the citizens will be happy enough with these masks, and not dig further”, the insider further remarks “I hope these masks won't cause any health hazard”.

Tanya Chan said this incident is unbelievable, “How is this possible? the Government spent so much fortune on this, with big promotions and marketing efforts, even Carrie Lam became a salesperson on her press conference and this mask should have been approved and verified multiple times!” Only until the recent inspection of the relevant patent papers, we only know for certain the that CU masks is entirely different from the awarded one, and the government swapped it with a counterfeit ones. She criticized that this action has violated the Trade description ordinance and said that distributing masks should benefit the society, but not so when the procedures are inappropriate, “Has the government been deceived? or did they know that the masks were not the same while they colluded and deceived the public? This is a big scandal and officials will have to be held accountable.” She said that the government has to clarify immediately that CU masks are not the awarded and patented products, and needs to prove that the masks is certified to be safe to use. We sent our enquiry to the Innovative and Technology bureau and HKRITA, and have not received any reply yet. 

Source: Apple Daily News

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