From 1:00 to 2:30 Pacific Time today (May 10, 2022), BCLT will be hosting a “SEP Year in Review” as part of our “IP + Tech Month”, with Professors Jorge Contreras and […]
Mark Cohen (柯恒)
Mark Allen Cohen (柯恒) is a Distinguished Senior Fellow and Director of the Berkeley Center for Law and Technology at the University of California, Berkeley. He is also a Guest Professor at Renmin University, China. He has served as the Senior Counsel, China for the USPTO. Formerly, he was Director of International Intellectual Property Policy at Microsoft Corporation. Prior to that time, he was Of Counsel to Jones Day's Beijing office. Before then, he served as Senior Intellectual Property Attaché at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing and as Attorney-Advisor in the Office of International Relations at USPTO. In total, he has nearly 30 private, public sector, in house and academic experience on IPR issues in China. This is his private blog. This blog represents the opinions of the author(s) only, and should not be construed as the position of any employer, client, or other party, including (and especially) the US government.
China’s New Seed Law: Molecular Varieties and Macro Developments

China’s new Seed Law was a positive step forward, particularly in the protection of Essentially Derived Varieties. The status of any needed implementing legislation is less clear.
Three Countries Seek to Join the EU SEP Case
The United States, Japan, and Canada have now asked to join the EU consultation request with China at the WTO regarding Chinese practices in issuing anti-suit injunctions (“ASIs”) for standards-essential patents (SEPs). […]
China IP Programs Podcasts and Testimony
A range of forthcoming China IP programs in the spring of 2022.
EU Files Request for Consultations on Chinese Judicial SEP Practices
On February 18, 2022, the EU filed a request for consultations at the WTO regarding China’s SEP practices as well as China’s failure to respond to the prior Article 63 transparency request […]
Counting and Discounting Patents – The USPTO Study on Patenting Activity in 5G
USPTO released a study on February 15, 2022 entitled “Patenting Activity among 5G Technology Developers”.
The Report uniquely “examines overall patenting trends as well as trends in patent filings and value indicators in the four most-patented 5G-related technologies. The Report does not fully consider China’s role as a major patent office in evaluating the quality of filings.
China in the DOJ Draft Policy: A Summary of the Comments
The comment period ended February 4, 2021 on the DOJ/USPTO/NIST Draft Policy Statement on Licensing Negotiations and Remedies for Standards-Essential Patents Subject to Voluntary F/RAND Commitments (the “2021 Draft”), to which I […]
Upcoming Programs and Recent Recordings
Berkeley Law closes out December 2021 with a range of programs focused on SEPs and IP enforcement, including judges and other speakers from all over the world.
Upcoming Events – From Berkeley and Beyond

Upcoming programs on SEPs, innovation, private international law, IP enforcement at Berkeley or other organizations for October-December 2021.
Recent Translations and Comments on Laws and Cases
Translations and comments are made avialable on patent and trademark examination guidelines, Seed Law, Plant Variety JI, AUCL JI, and Oppo v Sharp. With regard to the SPC decision in Oppo v Sharp a question is raised concerning China’s efforts to regulate and take jurisdiction over global SEP royalty rate setting.