With the experienced duo Christine Yiu (Shanghai) and Hank Leung (Hong Kong) at the helm, Bird & Bird‘s comprehensive offering covers all areas of IP, including trademarks, patents, trade secrets, copyright and designs. The team has an enviable track record in litigation and providing strategic commercial IP advice; the department’s combined sectoral experience encompasses the tech, life sciences, healthcare, retail, consumer goods, media, entertainment and sports (including e-gaming) sectors. In Beijing, Rieko Michishita handles contentious and non-contentious IP matters and is a regular advisor to Japanese companies; Dorie Wong‘s workload includes protection strategies, trademark portfolio management and litigation. Also in Beijing, the firm’s IP consultancy enables the team to conduct trademark and copyright matters before mainland Chinese government departments, including registration and enforcement matters; and through its association with PRC firm Lawjay Partners, it assists with litigation before China’s courts. The Hong Kong-based Asia-Pacific IP group head Matthew Laight is also recommended.

DLA Piper has strength and depth across the full spectrum of IP and is a regular advisor to leading international and Chinese brands, with particular expertise in the media, sports, entertainment, consumer goods, retail, life sciences and tech sectors. The Beijing-based Horace Lam has extensive experience advising on complex IP matters, including pan-Asia brand protection strategies, global trademark portfolio management, cross-border IP litigation, infringement and enforcement, tech and knowhow transfer and licensing, and IP structuring and transactions. Lam co-heads the practice with brand protection and enforcement expert Edward Chatterton in Hong Kong. Other recommended individuals include the life sciences sector-focused Ting Xiao, head of the patents practice in Shanghai; recently promoted partner Elizabeth Wong, who leads the trademark prosecution team in Hong Kong; and Beijing-based senior IP consultants Allen Xu and Asher Yan.

Hogan Lovells International LLP has an impressive track record in patent linkage and term extension, as well as the protection of employee-related trade secrets, where the team is the first port of call to clients operating in the healthcare, internet and tech sectors. Furthermore, IP litigation is an area of strength thanks to the firm’s associated law firm in the Shanghai Free Trade Zone called Hogan Lovells Fidelity. Leading the team are three partners spread across China. In Beijing, the dual-qualified (China and US) head of Asia IPMT Helen Xia is an expert in IP litigation, portfolio management, obtaining and enforcing IP rights, and commercial licensing. In Shanghai, Zhen (Katie) Feng specialises in IP disputes and brand protection work; and head of the IPMT Hong Kong team Eugene Low. Other recommended individuals include counsels Grace Guo (Beijing), whose practice ranges from trademarks and copyright to domain names, patents and trade secrets; and Yu-An Chang (Shanghai), a regular advisor to international and Chinese companies on the procurement, protection, enforcement and commercialisation of IP assets.

Areas of strength for Jones Day's renowned IP China practice range from multinational companies’ inbound disputes, IP transactions and China portfolio strategies, to acting for Chinese companies in outbound litigation; it can also boast its own IP agency in China. The department’s combined sectoral experience encompasses the tech and life sciences sectors in particular. The Shanghai-based Anthony Chen, former co-chair of the IP subcommittee of the American Chamber of Commerce, advises pharmaceutical and biotech companies on navigating China’s pharmaceutical patent linkage system for protecting new drugs. Chen co-heads the team with Haifeng Huang (who splits his time between Beijing and Hong Kong), who has a broad practice covering disputes and transactions involving patents, trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets, unfair competition, antitrust, and tech licensing issues. Guoping Da left the firm for Juniv LLP in October 2022.

Deacons fields a deep bench comprising patent attorneys qualified in Australia, China, Europe and the UK, all of whom are well-versed in large trademark portfolios and prosecution matters. Headquartered in Hong Kong, the team further draws on support from representative offices in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou. The dual-qualified Annie Tsoi (China and the UK) advises on all aspects of IP and is an advisor to leading global companies in the luxury goods, cosmetic, pharmaceutical, entertainment, fashion and electronics sectors. Tsoi co-heads the practice with the triple-qualified Catherine Zhen (New York, Canada and China) who specialises in China IP protection strategy and contentious matters. Other recommended individuals include Dora Si, whose expertise further spans setting up e-platforms and partnerships with local e-commerce platforms for foreign clients, and Tracy Li, who was promoted to partner in January 2023.

Mayer Brown's Hong Kong-based IP team has enviable roots in IP dispute resolution, handling matters pertaining to company hijacking, litigation and arbitration, most of which involve insolvency issues or cross-border elements. The department's combined sectoral experience encompasses the financial services, construction, manufacturing, retail, fashion, real estate, hospitality, media, tech and telecommunications sectors. Team head and co-leader of the firm's global IP practice Gabriela Kennedy is a towering figure in the IP and TMT fields; her clients include tech start-ups, media companies and universities. Other recommended individuals include Amita Haylock, whose IP expertise covers trademarks, copyright, designs and patents; and counsel Michelle Yee, who is head of brand management and specialises in the biotech sector.

Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP's large China-based team of patent attorneys - who are also qualified as patent agents and lawyers - is a regular port of call for leading multinationals and Chinese entities. The team's practice covers patents, trademarks, trade secrets and copyright, and has a strong record in cross-border litigation involving China and the US, where the team represents Chinese companies before the US International Trade Commission (ITC). Practice head Xiang Wang splits his time between Beijing and New York and is a regular advisor on IP infringement, trade secrets' misappropriation, and industrial espionage work. Also in Beijing, Shelley Zhang is noted for her IP prosecution and enforcement work. The Shanghai-based Yufeng (Ethan) Ma assists multinational corporations with IP litigation before the ITC and the US federal courts.

Led by the Hong Kong-based transactional IP specialist Ling Ho, Clifford Chance LLP's Greater China and Asia Pacific IP group fields both IP experts and commercial lawyers from the firm's corporate, litigation and dispute resolution teams, who are familiar in dealing with contentious and non-contentious IP matters. Other recommended individuals include the Lei Shi (Shanghai), who specialises in PRC-related IP litigation; and senior associate Jeannie Lam (Hong Kong), an expert in protection matters, licensing disputes, IP exploitation and portfolio management.

K&L Gates' Greater China IP team is the first port of call for companies requiring brand protection. Drawing on the firm's s IP Agency in China, as well as its trademark and patents groups in Japan and Hong Kong, the team is well-versed in patent litigation, Section 337 investigations before the US International Trade Commission (ITC), and portfolio development matters in the US, Asia, Australia and Europe. The US-qualified IP litigator Jay Chiu (Hong Kong) heads up the practice, which also includes Beijing counsel Edward Yao and Winnie Chan (Hong Kong), who has been appointed as a Notary Public of Hong Kong by the Chief Judge of the High Court.

Morrison Foerster handles a diverse caseload spanning patent and trademark prosecution, IP litigation and licensing transactions. The department's combined sectoral experience encompasses tech, pharmaceuticals, biologics, diagnostics, medical devices, medicinal chemicals and vaccines. Leading the team, the Hong-Kong based Gordon Milner is a regular advisor to leading international tech companies, banks and local start-ups on various IP issues, while in Shanghai, Chuan Sun focuses his practice on commercial IP matters as well as complex TMT sector transactions. Also recommended from Hong Kong is Timothy Blakely for involvement in cross-border trade secret disputes and IP infringement claims.

Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP‘s broad expertise covers IP prosecution, litigation and Section 337 investigations before the US’ International Trade Commission. The department’s combined sectoral experience encompasses life sciences, energy, manufacturing, finance, retail, consumer goods and tech – the latter is an area of particular expertise for practice co-heads Shaobin Zhu, who offers extensive experience in disputes between Chinese and US companies; and Yalei Sun, a regular advisor to clients seeking enforcement of their Chinese patents.

Leveraging its close relationship with local PRC firm Shanghai Pacific Legal, Norton Rose Fulbright's Hong Kong-based Greater China IP team covers the full spectrum of IP litigation and transactional work in China. Practice head Justin Davidson has a strong record advising both multinational and Chinese businesses on a wide range of contentious and non-contentious IP issues, including those in the financial services, tech, manufacturing, pharmaceuticals and fashion sectors.

Best known for its life sciences and tech sector-related IP credentials, Ropes & Gray LLP‘s team in Shanghai has a broad IP practice with a particular focus on transactional mandates. The experienced Geoffrey Lin has extensive experience handling domestic and cross-border IP matters.