Keeping up with China

Managing IP is part of Legal Benchmarking Limited, 1-2 Paris Gardens, London, SE1 8ND

Copyright © Legal Benchmarking Limited and its affiliated companies 2025

Accessibility | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Modern Slavery Statement

Keeping up with China

From design patent protection for graphic user interfaces to the evolution of transitional phrases in patents to the continual challenge of trade mark squatters, the wide range of topics covered in this year’s China IP Focus reflects the rapid pace of change in the world’s largest market

The China IP Focus, available for free download here, also contains the profiles of the most influential people in IP in China from our annual Top 50 feature.

The new Trademark Law, which comes into effect on May 1, is of particular interest. Gang Hu, Fang Wang and Jing Qui of CCPIT discuss the main changes in the law, and Weifeng Li of Panawell & Partners looks at how the new law changes the protection and limitations of well-known marks. Meanwhile, Anne Mae Koo of Vivien Chan & Co talks about how the updated law tries to tackle the longstanding problem of trade mark squatters and Wei Dong of PC & Associates examines how the new law helps rights owners seeking damages.

The new Trademark Law is not the only topic of interest for IP practitioners. Shenjun Chen of Shanghai Patent & Trademark Office discusses strategies for defending against patent infringement claims, an especially timely topic as international rights holders increasingly find themselves in the role of defendant in patent suits. Nannan Lin and Qi Wang of Deqi Intellectual Property Law give an update on how an invention’s country of completion affects the confidentiality examination requirements under the Patent Law, while Freder Shen and Jenny Li of Kangxin explain changes in the conduct of preliminary examinations.

Enforcement is a challenge for rights holders everywhere, but this is especially true in China. Johnson Jiang Li and Rongxin Li of China Patent Agent (HK) look at whether rights holders should choose judicial or administrative avenues for enforcement, while Spring Chang of Chang Tsi & Partners look at the rapid growth of IP filings and what this means for IP protection.

These are just some of the topics in this year’s China’s IP Focus. If you have any comments on how to make future editions more useful, we would love to hear from you.

more from across site and SHARED ros bottom lb

More from across our site

Attorneys explain why there are early signs that the US Supreme Court could rule in favour of ISP Cox in a copyright dispute
A swathe of UPC-related hires suggests firms are taking the forum seriously, as questions over the transitional stage begin
A win for Nintendo in China and King & Spalding hiring a prominent patent litigator were also among the top talking points
Rebecca Newman at Addleshaw Goddard, who live-reported on the seminal dispute, unpicks the trials and tribulations of the case and considers its impact
Attorneys predict how Lululemon’s trade dress and design patent suit against Costco could play out
Lawyers at Linklaters analyse some of the key UPC trends so far, and look ahead to life beyond the transition period
David Rodrigues, who previously worked at an IP boutique, said he may become more involved in transactional work at his new firm
Indian smartphone maker Lava must pay $2.3 million as a security deposit for past sales, as its dispute with Dolby over audio coding SEPs plays out
Powell Gilbert’s opening in Düsseldorf, complete with a new partner hire, continues this summer’s trend of UPC-related lateral movement
IP leaders at Brandsmiths and Bird & Bird, who were on opposing sides at the UK Supreme Court in Iconix v Dream Pairs, unpick the landmark case and its ramifications
Gift this article