About

JD.com’s legal team comprises three departments; the group legal, financial legal and IPR Department. IPR has recently been split off from Group legal, and plans for trademark, patent and all IPR related management of its technologies globally. By adopting a risk-control model featuring centralised management coupled with regional legal issues, the JD legal team is deeply involved in all aspects of the company’s growth and business operations, so as to facilitate the implementation of strategies and boost the company’s business. The legal team has grown from about 20 people in 2012 to over 110 in 2018, enabling it to support matters related to a business system involving 150,000 people. Related businesses include an e-commerce platform, self-run e-commerce, cross-border e-commerce and logistics services. In the past five years, the main role of JD legal has shifted from “affairs-focused”, mainly dealing with basic contract issues, to “business assisting” to avoid risks and boost business opportunities. It is currently providing strategic input for the company’s decision makers. In line with the company’s building blocks theory, the legal team is preparing to provide “empowering services” for small businesses, mainly through platform services. JD legal has provided all-round support for major projects of the company, including the strategic cooperation with Tencent, the listing of JD on NASDAQ, the merger with Dada, and the global strategic cooperation with Walmart. The team has completed over 70 investment projects, including financial spin-offs, setting up a joint venture in Thailand, investing in the British luxury e-commerce business Farfetch, and participating in the mixed ownership reform of China Mobile. JD legal has set up an IPR protection system, finished JD’s core trademark registration, applied for over 3,000 new trademarks in 2017, and set up its own “pool of patents” with over 5,000 patent applications. JD legal has also built an international legal team, expanding its coverage of legal services to Indonesia, the EU, the US and Russia, and also supporting the localisation of its legal support.