Here’s a rundown of some past events, and some upcoming ones. I will provide an update on some of the legal developments at a later date (I know I have been a bit remiss).
On October 4, 2018, I spoke about China at the University of Nevada Las Vegas’ program on “Intellectual Property Enforcement at Trade Fairs.” My observations: (a) China does not routinely great preliminary injunctions at trade fairs, despite heavy reliance on injunctive relief in final adjudication of IP infringements; (b) The United States does have robust preliminary injunction/temporary restraining order trade fair remedies; (c) the use of sui generis administrative or quasi-administrative enforcement mechanisms for trade fair enforcement in China may be one reason that judicial remedies are not that common; (d) trade fairs do afford other opportunites – they are excellent evidence gathering opportunities, their use can help satisfy use requirements for a trademark, and they may constitute infringing conduct as an “offer for sale” under the patent law. Please look through my power point and tell me if you have any comments.
On November 2, 2018. John Marshall Law School (JMLS) convened its 62nd annual IP conference I chaired a great breakout session on international developments, with Kira Alvarez, Peter Yu, Cynthia Ho, Tobias Hahn and Prof. Dennis Crouch. The session discussed the state of global IP and China-specific IP negotiations in the Trump administration. Kira Alvarez noted the success of the administration in negotiation trade secret commitments in the revised NAFTA. The panel, along with the audience, also discussed the role of soft diplomacy, rather than trade disputes, to resolve IP-related trade conflicts. Prof. Dennis Crouch attributed many of the changes in civil litigation globally to the work of former Chief Judge Rader “who was really using his gregarious nature to reach out and become close friends with the leading jurists around the world.” This point was restated by many during the conference and thereafter. The photo above is from the JMLS international IP panel with Kira to my right.
I also participated at the JMLS annual IP conference in a plenary discussion on antitrust and IP developments, moderated by Prof. Hugh Hansen of Fordham with Carlos Aboim, David Djavaherian, Suzanne Munck (FTC), Prof. Ioannis Lianos, University College London and Annsley Merelle Ward. I looked at the evolution of Chinese judicial practice regarding SEPS, which are a remarkable set of steps in light of there being no substantive change in antitrust or patent law during this period, and likely reflect increased judicial experience as well as the impact of economic changes in China as an emerging licensor. These developments were previously discussed in this blog. I also discussed China’s historical reliance on civil law measures to deal with IP misuse, rather than remedies under the patent law or antitrust law, and how these compare with US practice.
On November 5, 2018, Dan Rosen (Rhodium Group) launched another path breaking paper “Missing Link – Corporate Governance in China’s State Sector” at the Asia Society of Northern California. A copy can be found here. The video of the launch can be found here. The focus of my comments was on whether SOE’s can play a more active role in China’s innovation plans, and the awkward fit between SOE’s and global trading rules. I believed that existing efforts to provide greater market accountability and transparency for SOE’s (and more broadly, China) have not achieved their intended outcomes despite the extensive commitments negotiated with China at WTO accession.
I gave a talk at the IP Dealmakers Forum in NY on November 8, 2018 with several individuals involved in financing litigation, providing patent analytics, buying Chinese patents – Roger Tu, Y. P. Jou, Brian Yates, iPEL, and Bill Yuen. Brian Yates’ company had just been the subject of a Chinese article regarding whether patent assertion entities will now be/should now be coming to China, that was posted by IPHouse. I think many in the room shared my skepticism that China was now “ripe” for this type of activity, particularly for litigation by foreigners against Chinese. There was however a general sense that the IP and litigation environment was improving.
In addition to these programs, here are some upcoming events;
November 12, 2018, I will be talking at NYU. I have always greatly enjoyed the open discussions with Prof. Jerome Cohen (no relation), Ira Belkin and others, and I believe this upcoming event will be no different in my current role at UC Berkeley.
On November 13, 2018, I will be at Columbia University talking about “IP and the China Trade War: Long Overdue, a Pretext, or Both?” I may be guided by the discussions around that topic at JMLS earlier in November, where many concurred that these actions on IP in China are both overdue and dwarfed by other concerns.
On December 2, 2018, I will be in Shenzhen. Peking University School of Transnational Law (“STL”) will be partnering with Berkeley to present an exciting program on “Legal and Funding Issues for Successful Startups.” Both the topics and speakers promise to make this an especially exciting launch event. Here’s the link to register.
On December 3, 2018, I will be at IPBC Asia moderating a session on “China’s Mandate to Innovate” and its impact on IP commercialization. IPBC has constituted a great panel, including former SPC Chief IP Judge Kong Xiangjun, now Dean at Jiaotong University Law School, and Prof. Yang Guohua of Tsinghua Law School (former Chinese IP Attaché in the US, and DDG of MOfCOM), as well as Liren Chen, from Qualcomm, Eeva Hakoranta from Nokia and Roger Tu from Marconi.
On December 4, I will be at Tsinghua University speaking at the first annual Tsinghua/Berkeley conference on “Transnational IP Litigation: Opportunities and Challenges”. A copy of the agenda (Chinese) is found here. We will also have some great speakers for this launch event which focuses, non-exclusively, on US developments. The speakers include several Tsinghua and Berkeley professors, and leading attorneys from practice in the US and China. The program will cover a full range of issues including empirical data on litigation trends, venue, jury trials, Section 337 litigation, antitrust, the role of expert witnesses, and licensing strategies to mitigate risk.
I have some other events upcoming in Taiwan in December – but that will be another posting, along with some overdue updates on Chinese IP developments.
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