One of the many good things that came with speaking at #USPTO China roadshows was the opportunity to visit many cities and get a feel for the city’s vibe and people.

In #Iowa, cars still stop for pedestrians. In #Kansas, people still hold doors open for strangers.

It’s impressive that over 40% of the audience either already had business in China or had a past opportunity in which they dealt with China’s IP system.

Big round of applause for the spectacular hosts including many law school professors who took time out of their busy schedule to make the program a success: #Jason Rantanen at University of Iowa College of Law and #Jasmine Abdel-khalik at University of Missouri Kansas City School of Law (#UMKC).

The #USPTO China roadshows are informative, fun and most importantly, useful – they have lots of incredulous details and funny but real stories when it comes to trade secrets and IP best practices China. The speakers discussed China IP from virtually every different angle: #Dan Doughterty from #Alibaba discussed China IP from the E-commerce perspective, #Elaine Wu from USPTO discussed insights gleaned from China IP’s big data, Judge #Stephanie Marie Rose discussed the Pioneer Seed Theft Case, #Jim Hansen from Musco Lighting discussed managing IP in China from a corporate perspective, and #Cynthia Henderson for always sharing great insight about the audience and city we were in.  And of course I had to contribute my two cents about key differences regarding China’s trademark system, strategies and top cases.

I enjoy the China IP Roadshows not only as a speaker but also as a participant. People actually took notes while attending. You can tell the program is a success when people willingly hang around after lunch. Big troopers here are the USPTO attorneys: Elaine Wu, Cynthia Henderson, James Wilson, Molly Kocialski. You guys are a delight to work with: dedicated, experienced, resourceful, hard-working and fun!  Thank you again for inviting me to be part of the roadshow this year.