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Key contacts
CEO: Sidsel Hauge
Group Vice President: Kristina Walls
Group Vice President: Ai-Leen Lim
Quick facts
Established

1897

Number of Partners

65

Number of Practitioners

215

Languages

Chinese – Mandarin and Cantonese, Danish, Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Norwegian, Spanish and Swedish

Key practice areas
Intellectual property
Patent - foreign firms
Trade mark
Patent
Firm overview

AWA is a leading IP firm with over 370 employees across 22 offices in Belgium, China, Denmark, Hong Kong, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland.

We believe tomorrow is today’s emerging business – rising up from untapped potential within established industries and start-ups. No matter the size or industry, we help our clients create business out of their ideas and innovations.

AWA was founded in 1897 by Swedish engineer Anders Wilhelm Anderson. His initials form our company name and remind us of our proud history.

We supply a full-service offering of IP law services in prosecution, dispute litigation, aftermarket services, legal advice, strategy and commercialisation. Our IP professionals are experts in patents, trademark, design, copyright and domain names.


What sets up apart

Global: AWA has a presence in Europe and Asia with an extensive network of qualified preferred partners all over the world. We can handle your IP needs globally and follow-up in real-time.

Diversity and Colloboration: Our people come from diverse backgrounds with practical industry knowledge. Their technical capability means they understand the small details and how this differentiates you in the marketplace. Our teams comprise engineers working closely with attorneys at law and vice versa. This seamless collaboration ensures that the right skillset and legal knowledge is available and utilised for our client’s innovations. We pride ourselves on our comprehensive trainee programme for future IP leaders.

Strategy: We focus on the long-term – building a business is a journey that requires strategy. We support companies throughout the corporate cycle to protect and enforce IP rights, but to also identify and capture the value of intellectual assets.

Digital Innovation: We live in the digital era and are constantly looking at tools that reduce workload and save time. From the AWA Client Porta, to our domain management services – we are innovating the IP tools of the future.

Employee Owned: AWA is 100% owned by the employees with more than 50% of us choosing to invest or hold shares in the Group. This reflects our personal and long-term commitment to both our firm and our clients.

AWA Asia

Part of the AWA Group, AWA Asia supports and manages international clients’ IP needs throughout the region with a head office in Hong Kong – a location known for its successful business environment, world-class infrastructure and effective legal system.

Our Beijing office is our wholly owned licensed trademark agency, allowing us to file and enforce trademarks directlybefore the China Trademark Office and the administrative authorities, without the need to use local third-party agents.

Today, China is one of the largest IP markets in the world and is increasingly being selected as a key venue for IP litigation by foreign and local entities alike.

AWA Asia has strong value proposition that consists of an East-meets-West approach, with a bilingual and bicultural team of IP professionals (trademark lawyers, patent attorneys and IP strategists). Our international-level service delivery comes with deep local knowledge and is business minded, pragmatic and tailored.

 

Network memberships: AIPPI, APAA, ECTA, epi, FICPI, INTA, The Lawyer Network, LES Scandinavia, MARQUES, Union-IP

Practice Areas & Sector Specialisations

Practice Areas:

  • Copyright
  • Designs
  • IP transactions
  • Life sciences
  • Patent contentious
  • Patent litigation
  • Patent office proceedings
  • Patent prosecution
  • Patent strategy & counseling
  • Trade mark contentious
  • Trade mark litigation
  • Trade mark office proceedings
  • Trade mark prosecution
  • Trade mark strategy & counseling
  • ITC litigation

Sector Expertise:

  • Advertising
  • Aerospace & defence
  • Agriculture
  • Automotive
  • Biotechnology
  • Chemistry
  • Computer technology & services
  • Construction & materials
  • E-commerce
  • Electrical
  • Electronics
  • Fashion & luxury goods
  • FMCG
  • Food & beverage
  • Furniture
  • Healthcare
  • ICT & software
  • Industrials
  • Instruments
  • Internet
  • Life sciences
  • Manufacturing
  • Mechanical
  • Medical device
  • Nanotechnology
  • Pharmaceutical
  • Renewable energy
  • Retail
  • Semiconductors
  • Technology hardware
  • Telecommunication
  • Universities
  • Utilities
Address:
Suite 7-1, Floor 7, Block D, Guanghualu SOHO 2
9 Guanghua Road, Chaoyang District
Beijing
100020
Tel:+46 40 98 51 00 Fax:+46 40 26 05 16 Email:Contact Us Web Address:http://www.awa.com
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AWA
Overview

The Scandinavian IP firm AWA was founded in 1897 and has an international presence. AWA is recommended for IP work in China. The firm provides a full-service offering in prosecution, litigation, aftermarket services, legal advice, strategy and commercialisation in China. 

Notable soft IP practitioners: Ai-Leen Lim and Ashley Zhao. 

 
 
 
Testimonials

2026

"They are very responsive and have good insight into local practice in China."

"They are very responsive and communicate in a timely way. They are adept at handling multiple matters at the same time and managing tight deadlines."

"Very good communicators, high quality work, pragmatic and cost-efficient"

"They give practical advice my clients can easily understand and follow, instead of a wordy legal treatise."

Ai-Leen Lim

"Ai-Leen is highly responsive and is very attentive to client management. Ai-Leen shows good commercial insight into forming strategies."

"Very responsive, knowledgeable and understands the client's need"

"She is so fantastic. She can think of at least one workable solution to every problem one of my clients have had in the past decade or more--some of which are very creative."

 

2025

"Highly responsive; attentive to client needs and client management; often offering additional ‘value-add’ advice that is strategically helpful; good insight into local trade mark practice."

"The team is incredibly responsive, creative, articulate, strategic, and effective. The level of service that we receive from them is unmatched in China.  They are phenomenal."

"They are very responsive, often working within tight deadlines. They also have good insight into local trade mark practice and developments, including nuances and trends with the China Trade Mark Office."

"They have been consistently superior in all ways for over a decade."

Ai-Leen Lim

"Best of the best. Amazing at customer service and legal wins for my clients."

“I trust her, her team, and the quality of her advice completely.”

Linked Reviews
Patent

Case studies show the firm helps clients in the biotechnology, consumer goods, manufacturing and chemical industries with filing, FTO, enforcement and commercial transaction work. 

Trade mark

Case studies show that the firm assisted leading international clients from various sectors to successfully deal with trade mark prosecution and litigation. 

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