Stephenson Harwood, amongst a long list of other firms, has sought to boost its IP capacity by appointing two new IP practitioners, Audrey Shum and Wong Ka Wai, to keep up with the evolution of the country’s new IP legislation.
Shum joins as partner and leaves a consultant position at Clifford Chance where she specialised in both contentious and commercial IP matters.
The two appointments underline the firm’s determination to make IP one of its core practices. “The various changes made to the Patent Law and its Implementing Rules are helping China to advance her IPR regime,” said Chloe Lee, partner and head of IP at Stephenson Harwood. “China’s IP laws are now generally regarded as being comprehensive and on par with those in developed countries, yet the perennial question still seems to be how to safeguard and enforce IPR effectively. This sector of the PRC’s commercial law is constantly growing in both its importance and complexity,” she added.
Having been revised three times since the IP legislation was enacted in 1984, the revision of the Chinese Patent Law seeks to address current legal and practical issues and controversies. The revision also strengthens and fine-tunes the old patent protection and enforcement regime in order to serve the needs of more mature and sophisticated patent owners and users.
“As its economy matures, the protection and commercial exploitation of intellectual property will become increasingly important,” said Stephenson Harwood’s managing partner, Voon Keat Lai.
Empirical evidence proves Voon’s point: The Supreme People's Court announced that in 2009 30,626 civil IP cases were filed, a 25% growth over the 2008 figure. The courts tried 30,509 IP cases, which marked a 30% increase from the year before.
No wonder manoeuvres are coming in the IP sector: along with Stephenson Harwood’s appointment, Grandall Legal Group recently gained six more IP lawyers by merging with IP agency, Beijing Xinzheng Zhitong. IP specialist Lifang & Partners also expanded its capacities by merging with Liu and Partners, only months after increasing its headcount by recruiting a 20-member IP team.
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