The Legal 500

The ‘first-class’ An, Tian, Zhang & Partners is a full service boutique covering litigation, prosecution and enforcement relating to all forms of IP. In a landmark Chinese trade mark infringement case, Xiaodi (Andy) An and David Tian (who both give ‘practical assistance rather than just black letter law answers’) recently achieved Supreme Court confirmation for Sotheby’s of earlier court decisions regarding trade mark infringement and unfair competition in relation to an unregistered mark. The team is particularly well-regarded for its work in the pharmaceutical sector, and recently successfully settled a patent infringement case for biopharmaceutical company Gilead.

CCPIT Patent & Trademark Law Office has a long history in this practice area, having drafted some of the first patent laws for the region as well as being the first Chinese IP firm to handle foreign-related patent matters. Its team of patent and trade mark attorneys advise a diverse client base in the chemical, electrical, mechanical and finance sectors offering prosecution, litigation, transaction and consultation services relating to all aspects of IP. Practice head Hao Ma has technical expertise in electronic and electrical engineering, and president of the firm Li Yong is also recommended.

King & Wood advises on and implements IP management and protection strategies for multinational companies which have valuable portfolios of IP assets. Highlights in 2010 included acting in a retrial case in the Supreme People’s Court for Shanghai Zhonghan Chenguang Stationery Co Ltd, resulting in the first decision by the Court regarding the protection of a design under anti-competition laws. Li Yong leads the team, Yang Xiaoli has extensive experience in trade mark prosecution and enforcement, and Qiao Dexi is also recommended.

Liu Shen & Associates focuses largely on patent filing, prosecution and litigation. Highlights included acting for General Protecht Group in convincing the Local Federal Court of New Mexico that claimant Levition should withdraw its request to the International Trade Commission for an investigation into unfair practices in import trade and associated patent infringement proceedings in the Local Federal Court of California. Managing partner Michelle Ma leads the team which also recently gained several new high-profile clients including Volkswagon and Sanofi-aventis. Jianyang Yu is a leading figure in patents and life sciences.

Wan Hui Da Law Firm & Intellectual Property Agency strengthened its patent team in 2010, welcoming Yin Xintian from the State Intellectual Property Office of China, where he was head of legal affairs, and Qi Deshan as counsel, after his retirement as deputy head of the Patent Re-examination Board. Highlights in 2010 included acting for L’Oréal in a trade mark infringement case, which resulted in the highest award possible of RMB500,000 in damages. The team, which gives ‘sound legal and practical advice’, also successfully acted in a number of retrials in the Supreme People’s Court. The ‘excellent’ Shuhua (Mark) Zhang is experienced in patent litigation and the enforcement of IP rights in exhibitions and trade fairs. Founding partner Gang Bai is also recommended.

Chang Tsi & Partners has a comprehensive IP service and dedicated investigations team offering ‘clear and concise’ advice in contentious and non-contentious matters relating to trade marks, patents and copyright issues. Head of litigation Frank Liu acted as local counsel for JA Apparel on the enforcement of an order for destruction and collection of a $1.7m arbitration award issued in the US; one of the only cases where a Chinese court has confirmed an arbitration award issued by a US arbitration panel. Other clients include Kraft and Air China. Both Liu and Spring Chang are praised by clients for their ‘excellent trial skills’. Simon Tsi is also recommended.

China Patent Agent (H.K.) Ltd. houses a large team comprising trade mark and IP litigators, as well as patent attorneys and engineers specialising in chemistry, biotechnology and pharmaceuticals, electronics and electricity, mechanics and design. The team has intimate knowledge of IP-related laws in a wide range of countries and regions, allowing it to build strong relationships with all the major international and domestic IP associations and societies. To add to an impressive track record in litigation matters, the team notched up a number of wins in 2010 in trade mark and patent infringement disputes. Clients have included Tetra Laval, Pfizer and Beecham Pharmaceuticals.

Almost all of the patent attorneys and technical experts at China Sinda Intellectual Property Limited have a scientific or engineering degree. The large practice encompasses counseling and litigation in patents, trade marks, copyrights, integrated circuit layout designs, domain names, and unfair competition. Firm founder Lina Xie handles complex cases related to domain name, trade marks and unfair competition. Gary Zhang has strong experience in patent litigation along with a solid track record in piracy and counterfeiting cases.

At Global Law Office, China and US-qualified Huanzhong Chen has been busy advising on patent and trade mark infringements, as well as acting in litigation concerning trade secrets and unfair competition. Arbitration and litigation specialist Xiusong Xing acted as arbitrator under the SCC (Stockholm Chamber of Commerce) rules for a publicly listed SOE regarding disputes under a Technology License Agreement with a US company. Other IP clients have included IBM and Yahoo!.

The ‘excellent’ Hylands Law Firm has one of the largest full-service IP practices in China and a strong track record acting in domain name disputes, and acting for household names in counterfeiting cases, where it houses a special investigations team. Lian Yunze, has the ‘ability as co-leader of the firm to build a highly motived team of IP specialists’, and in 2010 had a number of successes advising Prada in a series of trade mark oppositions, and acting for Swissotel Management in a domain name dispute. Ma Xiaogang is a renowed IP expert in China.

Jun He Law Offices’ IP practice covers patents, trade marks, copyrights, trade secrets and unfair competition in a wide range of industries such as telecommunications, electronics, software, semiconductors, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, electronics, and media. Ruixie Ran advises on IP-related matters in corporate and commercial transactions in China, and Zhaohui (Zoe) Wang has extensive experience dealing with IP matters in China and the US.

Highly regarded managing partner Samson Yu at Kangxin Partners, p.c. is a patent and trade mark attorney, as well as a registered US patent agent, and regularly acts for international Fortune 500 companies. The strong patent department is staffed by experts covering electronics, mechanics, and chemistry and life sciences. The team is well suited for IP litigation with a number of senior lawyers having worked in the State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO), the Provincial High Courts and Beijing’s IP Courts.

NTD Patent & Trademark Agency Ltd’s services cover the full range of contentious and non-contentious IP matters, which includes dealing with counterfeiting activities for world-famous brand owners and advising on IP-related aspects of licensing, franchising and distribution agreements. Christopher Shaowei is an experienced patent and trade mark attorney.

Yadong Wang at Run Ming Law Office is ‘highly capable of solving problems’ and has acted in many landmark cases for clients such as Yamaha, Daewoo, Chanel, Prada and Gucci. His recent work includes advising famous international pianist Li Yundi in a trade mark dispute. Wen Qin acted in a copyright dispute for the copyright holder of TV series “Hua Pi”, and Min Li has particular expertise in internet-related matters.

Xiang Kun Law Firm has specialist industry expertise in the electronics, luxury goods and services, IT, telecommunications, sports, and pharmaceutical sectors. Highly recommended managing partner James Luo has acted on a number of high-profile projects aimed at tackling counterfeiting and the team has recently been busy acting in enforcement proceedings and litigation against offending counterfeiters of top luxury brands including Louis Vuitton, Burberry and Gucci. The firm also has an association with Bird & Bird, for whom it conducts all Chinese trade mark and patent infringement cases.