China celebrated the IP holiday by holding annual conferences. This year’s IP conference was held in Hangzhou — the capital city of Zhejiang Province. The conference took place from 3/30 to 4/1/2017 – this is China’s 6th IP conference to honor this holiday.
Who are the speakers? The “heaviest” of the heavyweight in China’s IP industry. To name just one:
Mr. He Hua – Deputy Director of “State Intellectual Property Office” (国家知识产权局副局长). In a word, his position is similar to the Vice President of USTPO – one of the few that is in charge of China’s intellectual property office.
Who Else?
More than 200 IP experts (including both academia and IP attorneys) from 20+ countries attended the conference.
What did they talk about?
There were 27 guest speakers from different countries. Topics included: primary challenges to assert IP rights in today’s internet age in China; updates on patents and trademarks (in China and other countries such as the EU); new standards and reforms that should be considered.
Who are the key players?
NTD, one of the oldest and most experienced IP specialized law firms in China, was selected to be one of the parties hosting and organizing the trademark session.
Chris Shen – Vice President of NTD’s Trademark Group – was selected to preside over the “Trademark Practice” session (1 of the 7 topics at the conference). Chris has been my go-to expert in China for enforcement issues and my personal friend for years. He is also the one I call when I need restaurant recommendations in Beijing. Shout out to Chris on this marvelous accomplishment!
Chris provided an overview of China’s TM system as well as an insightful analysis to the recent cases and statistics. Most importantly, he outlined the take- away messages from all these data along with practical advice to business.
Shout out also to Nathan – a young & aspiring partner at NTD – who gave a fascinating speech about China’s breakthrough and recognition of non-conventional trademarks. Nathan is also my good friend for years; we went through the ranks of law firms together in the past 10 years – except his law firm is in China while mine is always based in the US. He is the one I call when I need “insider views” about law firm and agencies China.
In the picture, Chris is one of the far left, Nathan is on the far right.
Click here to see what is World Intellectual Property Day.
Click here to see the original report in Chinese.
Find more about trademarks & branding in China (from both legal and business perspectives) on our blog!
We are a group of trademark attorneys with a combined 100 years of experience specializing in China. The views shared on this website also include those from trademark authorities (who have held top positions from China’s trademark offices) as well as Western business executives (who have pioneered anti-counterfeiting programs throughout Asia). Together, we have created the first China Trademark Blog. We collect data, raw information, and statistics. We then provide you with insights and analysis – in clear plain English – what they mean to your brands in China.
