China Law, Trade and IP 2020

 

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 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 Commitee
  • Mark Cohen, Berkeley Law

 

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 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 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 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


If you require an accommodation for effective communication (ASL interpreting/CART captioning, alternative media formats, etc.) to fully participate in any of these events, please contact Nathalie Coletta at natcoletta@berkeley.edu or 510-643-5518 with as much advance notice as possible and at least 7-10 days in advance of the event.