Wanhuida Intellectual Property

Wanhuida Intellectual Property is a leading IP service provider in China. It has two main legal entities, Wanhuida IP Agency and Wanhuida Law Firm, with offices covering all major IP hubs in China.

Wanhuida is now home to some 480 employees working exclusively in the field of intellectual property. It has some 50 partners, 120 lawyers specialised in IP litigation and enforcement work, 90 trademark attorneys, 70 patent attorneys and 80 other professionals, including investigators and supporting staff. Many of them are recognised leaders in their respective fields. They come from a broad range of backgrounds, having worked in private practice, as in-house counsel or in government services in courts, police departments or administrative agencies.

The firm’s professionals have broad and in-depth experience. Over the years, they have cumulatively litigated thousands of IP cases in courts all over China, prosecuted tens of thousands of patent applications and filed hundreds of thousands of trademark registrations. Many of the cases are first of their kind. They are recognised by industries, courts and administrative agencies as exemplary cases for their legal significance.

The trademark practice has been a core strength since the firm’s creation. The firm is known to clients and peers for stellar credentials in trademark laws and regulations. The top-notch team has generated a record of firsts and landmark cases in the nation’s trademark prosecution and litigation history. The firm has also made frequent contributions to the development of trademark laws in China.

The firm has some 120 professionals with experience in patent litigation, prosecution and counselling. Some of its patent cases are selected by courts or agencies as exemplary cases. They include cases selected as the Guiding Cases of the Supreme People’s Court on IP Trial, the Annual Report of the Supreme People’s Court on Intellectual Property Cases, the Top 10/50 IP Cases of the Chinese Courts (released annually by the Supreme People’s Court) and the 10 Exemplary Cases of the Patent Re-examination and Invalidation Department. These have contributed to patent law development in subjects such as claim construction, claim amendment, inventiveness determination and sufficient disclosure.

The firm’s reputation in copyright is on the rise. It is fostering a team of top copyright practitioners as the copyright litigation team expands. The firm has recently won copyright cases before the Supreme People’s Court, successfully persuading the court to re-adjudicate erroneous lower court decisions. It has also obtained favourable decisions in various lower courts, obtaining injunctive as well as sizeable monetary reliefs for clients.

The firm is at the leading edge of litigations. Each year, its IP litigators litigate hundreds of cases, gaining abundant experience in the court practices across China. The firm is at the forefront of frequently litigated issues, such as procedure, jurisdiction, enforcement, evidence admission, burden of proof and interim reliefs. It litigates both civil and administrative cases before administrative agencies and at all levels of courts. The firm’s expertise also extends to litigating criminal trade secret cases and arbitration matters.

Wanhuida understands the law and its context through years of study and practice. It actively participates in the development of the legal framework. Since its creation, the firm has thus been closely associated with the legislative progress of Chinese IP laws and regulations. It continues to play an active role in the improvement of the Chinese legal and regulatory environment. Its practitioners are involved in the processes for revising the trademark law, patent law, copyright law, anti-unfair competition law and relevant judicial interpretations through the submission of comments to draft laws and organising platforms for discussion and communicating with authorities responsible for policy development.

The firm’s active involvement in policy and law development enables it to stay abreast of how the laws are shaping up and gives its professionals insights that can be critical to protecting its clients' interests. The firm also keeps its finger on the pulse of legal practice changes through the thousands of cases it handles before the courts and administrative agencies.

This mix of legal expertise and result-oriented practical approach has been critical to the firm’s past success and remains a key feature as it launches into the future.