Biographies

Elaine T.L. Wu is the Principal Counsel and Director for China IP at the Office of Policy and International Affairs (OPIA) in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.  In that capacity, Ms. Wu is responsible for leading the OPIA China experts, a dedicated group of attorneys with expertise on China’s intellectual property system. The OPIA China experts work with other branches of the U.S. government to develop intellectual property policy focused on improving China’s intellectual property environment for the benefit of U.S. companies doing business there. The OPIA China experts also conduct extensive outreach to U.S. companies to educate them on how to protect/enforce their IP in China.   

Amy Martín is Director, Legal Affairs at Driscoll’s with broad responsibilities, including ensuring protection on a global basis of the company’s world-class, proprietary berry varieties. She has over 30 years of legal experience in a variety of industries, with the last 20+ years focused on intellectual property issues. She has a bachelor’s degree in public policy and social services from the University of Denver.

Dan Fang is currently Director of Seed Industry & ASTA projects, U.S.-China Agriculture and Food Partnership. Before that, she has 16 years experience in China’s PVP practice when she served for China National Seed Group Corporation.

Xu Yi worked as an IP judge before joining Lusheng, and has handled numerous groundbreaking IP litigation cases. She helped clients reverse unfavourable prior judgments in multiple second instance and retrial cases, obtained preliminary injunction orders and high compensation for clients in complicated cases of patent/trademark/copyright infringement and unfair competition.

Zhou Yanhao earned his Ph.D. in Plant genetics at Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research, followed by post-doctoral training at the University of Cologne in Germany. Afterwards, Yanhao started with Syngenta in 2020 in Beijing and his main responsibility is to support Syngenta’s intellectual property efforts for seeds in China.

Alanna Rennie is an Associate at Baker McKenzie, where she practices plant intellectual property and transactional matters. Alanna is fluent in Mandarin and admitted as a solicitor in Australia with a Bachelor of Laws (Honours) from Bond University and Masters in Chinese Law from Tsinghua University. She has spent extensive time in China researching, engaging and guiding companies on China’s plant variety rights regime, including ongoing engagement with the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, State Forestry and Grasslands Administration and other stakeholders on plant variety rights related developments.

Michael Ward is the global head of Morrison Foerster’s Life Sciences Practice Group, head of the firm’s Patent Practice Group, co-chair of the firm’s Intellectual Property Group and co-chair of the firm’s global AgTech + Food Industry practice. As the founder of Morrison Foerster’s Plant Intellectual Property Group, Michael manages a wide range of intellectual property issues relating to plants and plant products.

Mark Cohen joined Berkeley Law in 2017 as a Senior Fellow and Director of BCLT’s Asia IP Project. With over 30 years’ experience as a law firm attorney, in-house counsel, government official, and adjunct and visiting professor of law, Cohen was previously Senior Counsel and Senior Advisor to the Undersecretary of Commerce/Director of the USPTO. He is widely recognized as the leading expert in the U.S. on intellectual property law in China.  As Director of the BCLT Asia IP Project, Cohen is working with BCLT sponsors and faculty directors to develop collaborative relationships with academic institutions and other partners in Asia, including organizing workshops, conferences, and other events that bring data-driven insight to the complex IP landscape in China and other Asian fora.  Mark hosts the popular blog www.chinaipr.com, serves as an advisor to the IP database iphouse.cn, and has published books and articles on China’s IP system, antitrust law in China, civil and administrative enforcement of IP,  and foreign law firms practicing law in China.