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China Law, Trade and IP 2020
ONLINE CERTIFICATE SERIES (May – July 2020)
Intellectual property law in China is undergoing rapid change, with profound implications for the global tech industry. The Asia IP and Technology Law Project presented this series of seven webinars whereby leading experts from China and the U.S. covered developments in Chinese law on important topics including patentability, pharmaceutical IP, trade secrets law and enforcement, licensing and antitrust, and copyright.
Who Will Benefit from This Series
This series is intended for in-house counsel and law firm attorneys representing tech companies concerned about protecting their IP in China. Whether you have been doing trans-Pacific work for a long time, or are newly focused on trying to understand the Chinese legal landscape, this series will get you up to speed on key developments spurred by the trade wars and internal drivers of law reform in China.
Session 7: July 15, 2020 – The Future of IP and Tech Collaboration in China
4:30 P.M. – 6:00 P.M. (PT) – 90 min.
A discussion with thought leaders, wrapping up the series.
Speakers:
- Moderator: Mark Cohen, Berkeley Law
- Don Rosenberg, VP and General Counsel, Qualcomm
- Hon. David Kappos, Former Director, USPTO, Partner – Cravath
- Prof. Mark Wu, Harvard University
- Prof. Dan Prud’homme, EMLV Business School (Paris, France)
- Prof. Alexander Capri, Hinrich Foundation/National University of Singapore
Session 6: July 8, 2020 – Copyright Commercialization, Protection, and Reform
4:30 P.M. (PT) – 75 min.
China’s copyright landscape has been undergoing major changes: companies like Alibaba and Tencent have become content developers and major investors in online entertainment. Over 900 million Chinese citizens are consumers of online content. China’s National Copyright Administration has become a unit within the Communist Party Publicity Department. A new draft revision to China’s copyright law was released in 2020 – approximately eight years after it was first proposed. Last year, Chinese courts accepted nearly 300,000 new copyright cases, nearly fifty times the US docket. Still problems remain, such as in the copyright protection for online sports broadcasts. We discussed China’s evolving legal landscape for copyright protection with three leading experts on Chinese copyright law as well as the National Basketball Association.
Speakers:
- Moderator: Mark Cohen, BCLT, Berkeley Law
- Eric Priest, University of Oregon
- Seagull Song, Loyola University, L.A.
- Ayala Deutsch, National Basketball Association
- Jiarui Liu, University of San Francisco
Session 5: June 24, 2020 – Abusive Trademark Registrations
4:30 P.M. (PT) – 75 min.
Michael Jordan, Donald Trump, and many other famous brands have encountered problems with trademarks for a range of goods and services that had been filed in China in advance of their legitimate owners. Over the past several years, the Chinese Trademark Office and the Chinese courts have taken significant steps to address the problem of abusive trademark registrations within the context of China’s ‘first to file’ regime, including reforms required by the “Phase 1” Trade Agreement (January 15, 2020).
This panel consisted of leading authorities from the Chinese and US trademark offices, as well as practitioners, who introduced us to the problem of abusive trademark registration in China and the steps being taken to address it.
Speakers:
- Moderator: Prof. Eric Priest, University of Oregon
- Zheng Haiyan, China National IP Administration
- Michael Mangelson, USPTO
- Ping Chu, Nike China
- Lei Yongjian, Wanhuida Law Firm
Session 4: June 17, 2020 – Section 101 Comes to China: Is China Turning the Unpatentable into the Patentable?
4:30 P.M. (PT) – 75 min.
Over the past several years, China has been steadily expanding the scope of patentable subject matter, while the US has been making it more difficult to obtain software enabled patented inventions, fintech patents, and diagnostic patents. Is it in fact easier to obtain these patents in China than the US and what has been the impact (good or bad) on the US innovation ecosystem? The program included Chinese experts in the field.
Speakers:
- Moderator: Chief Judge Paul Michel, (ret.)
- Hon. David Kappos, Cravath, Swaine & Moore
- Liaoteng Wang, Beijing East IP
- Guobin Cui, Tsinghua Law School
- Robert Merges, BCLT, Berkeley Law
Session 3: June 10, 2020 – Trade Secret Protection
4:30 P.M. (PT) – 75 min.
China has drastically amended its civil trade secret regime and then contemplated additional changes to its criminal trade secret law. However, foreign companies routinely experience significant challenges protecting their trade secrets in China or addressing China-originating trade secret misappropriation. This session offered some practical strategies in light of this rapidly evolving legal landscape.
Speakers:
- Moderator: James Pooley, Pooley, PLC and Berkeley Law
- Jerry Xia, Anjie Law Firm
- Jack Chang, Quality Brands Protection Committee
- Mark Cohen, Berkeley Law
Session 2: June 3, 2020 – Licensing and Antitrust
4:30 P.M. (PT) – 75 min.
The US-China trade war sought to address certain perceived problems in the transfer of technology to China, including forced technology transfer and onerous mandatory licensing terms imposed on foreigners. How much has the licensing environment improved for the foreign business community and what additional reforms might be expected? How will China’s developing antitrust regime affect foreign businesses seeking to monetize their IP in China?
Speakers:
- Moderator: Mark Cohen, Berkeley Law
- Hao Yuan, Tsinghua Law School/Berkeley Law
- Stuart Chemtob, Wilson Sonsini
- Deng Fei, Charles River Associates
- David Dutcher, Western Digital
- Robert Merges, Berkeley Law
Session 1: May 27, 2020 – Pharmaceutical IP Issues
4:30 P.M. (PT) – 90 min.
Pharmaceutical IP protection was a big “winner” in the Phase 1 Trade Agreement. How is China planning on implementing its commitments to improve protection for innovative chemical compounds and biologics?
Speakers:
- Chief Judge Randall Rader (ret.)
- He Jing, Anjie Law Firm
- Zhao Xu, East China University of Politics and Law
- Tony Chen, Jones Day
- David Kappos, Cravath, Swaine & Moore
- Karen Guo, Novo Nordisk
- Moderator: Mark Cohen, BCLT, Berkeley Law
May 20, 2020– Following the Data: What the Latest Research Says about China’s Legal and IP Environment
How should we understand data-driven Chinese legal policymaking, and how do these tools provide strategic insights?
Speakers:
- Benjamin Liebman, Columbia University
- Tobias Smith, UC Berkeley
- Melissa Schneider, Darts IP
- Robert Merges, UC Berkeley
- Fei Deng, Charles River Associates
- Ryan Manuel, Asia Global Institute
- Mark Cohen, BCLT (moderator)
Book warming: May 13, 2020 – The Scientist and the Spy: A True Story of China, the FBI, and Industrial Espionage
10:30 AM
The Asia IP and Technology Law Project was proud to host a virtual book warming event for Mara Hvistendahl’s: The Scientist and the Spy: A True Story of China, the FBI, and Industrial Espionage.
Mara Hvistendahl is a Pulitizer Prize runner-up in non-fiction writing. In her new book, she chronicles an FBI investigation that began with the September 2011 trespassing inquiry of Chinese nationals in an Iowa cornfield and grew into a two-year FBI operation in which investigators bugged the men’s rental cars, used a warrant intended for foreign terrorists and spies, and flew surveillance planes over corn country. Science magazine in reviewing the book noted, “If there is a subplot that makes this book essential reading, especially for those working in the sciences today, it is Hvistendahl’s documentation of the disturbing effects that the too-vigorous pursuit of industrial spies has had on Chinese scientists and engineers in the United States.”
May 6, 2020– The Phase 1 Agreement and Its Implementation
4:30 P.M. (PT) – 90 min.
Former high-ranking US government officials and one of China’s leading experts on IP law discussed the Phase 1 Trade Agreement between the US and China. Among the issues to be discussed: To what extent will the Agreement improve US and Chinese trade relations? On IP specifically, what does the Agreement offer to US companies? Will China wholeheartedly implement the Agreement. Will the dispute settlement mechanisms in the Agreement work? What about China’s own efforts to improve its IP regime? What further improvements are possible in a Phase 2 Agreement, and indeed will there be a Phase 2?
Speakers:
- Craig Allen, President US-China Business Council
- Warren Maruyama, Hogan Lovells
- Cui Guobin, Tsinghua University Law School
- Wendy Cutler, Asia Society
- Mark Cohen, Berkeley Law (moderator)
April 22, 2020– China: Law, Economy and Trade in 2020
4:30 P.M. (PT) – 75 min.
A look at legal and economic developments in China as they affect trans-Pacific trade for 2020 and beyond.
Speakers:
-
- Jerome A. Cohen, NYU
- Susan Finder, Peking University Transnational Law School (Shenzhen)
- Sean Randolph, Bay Area Economic Council
- Mark Cohen, Berkeley Law (moderator)
Our conferences and workshops bring together practicing attorneys, judges and government officials from throughout the Pacific Rim:
- Practical Issues in CFIUS and Export Controls – May 30, 2018, Berkeley, CA
Following our highly successful kick-off in August 2018, BCLT’s Asia IP Program held its second event on Tech, Trade and China. - Roundtable on IP Developments in Pharma in China – May 30, 2018, Berkeley
This invitation-only roundtable offered a rare opportunity for experts and stakeholders from China and the US to discuss major reforms in IP protection for pharmaceutical innovation that are under consideration in China, including the establishment of a patent linkage system. - US-China IP Dialogue – May 31-June 1, 2018, Berkeley
BCLT hosted the US-China IP Cooperation Dialogue (sponsored by the US Chamber of Commerce), which brought together senior IP experts from the US and China for in-depth discussions on the full range of challenging IP issues. - Tech, Trade and China – August 3, 2018, Berkeley
This invitation-only roundtable, conducted in workshop fashion, with 70 participants from leading tech companies and law firms, including many former government officials, focused on the unique perspective and voice of the tech community, seeking a fact-based analysis of the changing nature of US-China trade. Follow-up work is being planned, with public outcomes. - China Town Hall – National Committee for US China Relations – October 9, 2018, Berkeley
BCLT partnered with the National Committee on US-China Relations and the Asia Society Northern California to host this interactive, live-stream webcast with Secretary Condoleezza Rice, followed by an on-site discussion with a panel of local experts on US-China relations involving trade, the tech industry and intellectual property rights in the Trump/Xi Administrations. - Entity Formation and Funding: Legal Fundamentals for Startups – December 1, 2018, Shenzhen
Extending the scope of our Startup@BerkeleyLaw project, this one-day event was aimed at entrepreneurs in China seeking to understand the US venture capital and startup legal framework. More details: English | Chinese >> - Transnational IP Litigation – December 3-4, 2018, Beijing
This full-day conference focused on litigating in the US; a subsequent US-based session focused on the importance of China in a global litigation strategy. More Details >>
- 2nd Annual Berkeley-Tsinghua Conference on Transnational IP Litigation– October 22, 2019, Berkeley, with Tsinghua University Law School
A full-day conference aimed at in-house counsel and law firm attorneys, to enhance their understanding of how to handle cross border cases involving Chinese parties, including such hot issues as standards essential patents, the impact of the trade war, and on-line infringement.