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Mark A. Cohen (柯恒)

Mark Allen Cohen (柯恒) is currently the Senior Technology Fellow at the Asia Society of Northern California and at the Asia Society Policy Institute He also serves an Edison Fellow at the University of Akron School of Law and as a non-resident fellow at the Haas School of Business at the University of California at Berkeley, the University of California at San Diego, and at the National Bureau of Asian Research. He was the first Intellectual Property Attaché at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing and as Attorney-Advisor in the Office of International Relations at USPTO. Among his many awards, he is a recipient of the Meritorious Honor award from President Barack Trump on recommendation of President Obama for his work on technology transfer issues involving China This is the highest award in the U.S. civil service. In total, he has nearly 50 years of private, public sector, in house and academic experience on IPR issues in China. This blog represents the personal opinions of Mark Cohen and any guest authors only and should not be construed as the position of any third party or client.

A Season of CNIPA Rulemaking

Several new rules from China’s State Administration for Market Regulation portend a more active role for administrative enforcement of patents, in both patent linkage and major disputes affecting Chinese national interests. How much due process do these rules afford? Are they compatible with the TRIPS Agreement? Will foreigners be treated fairly? Will the administrative agencies be transparent in their decisions and make their cases publicly available. SAMR’s database of IP cases is also relatively new.
There are a number of open issues.

NSCAI Report Released

The National Security Commission Report on Artificial Intelligence has been released. Chapter 12 covers IP-related issues, focusing on China. The report calls for greater interagency coordination, more stability in patent-eligible subejct matter, and a critical view of China’s SEP-contributions.

Patent Litigation, IP Monetization and Technology Decoupling: Lessons for the Future

Even during a time of trade conflict, there was considerable litigation and patent licensing activity with China, including a pronounced role in global markets for Chinese companies and in China for US companies. Patent disputes and licensing involved a diverse group of technologies. Chinese companies have become more active in SEP litigation overseas. The United States is an important venue for litigating overseas patent disputes with Chinese entities. Both the patent licensing and pharma data show the importance of tracking market value and trends to determine the real-world impact of IP-related policies.