BEIJING, CHINA - Media OutReach - 2 November 2018 - Deacons,Hong Kong's premier full service independent law firm, marked the fifth year anniversaryof its Intellectual Property Office in Beijing by hosting a cocktail event forapproximately 70 distinguished guests from the Beijing business community andfrom government. At the event, Deacons expressed its commitment to growth inChina to meet the excellent opportunities arising from China's improving intellectualproperty protection regime and greater enforcement efforts.

Deacons Partner Annie Tsoi (fourth from left) and colleagues, officiated the opening of the Deacons (Beijing) Intellectual Property office 5th Anniversary Celebration Cocktail Reception, with honoured guests from the government, including Liu Ke (centre), Vice chairperson of Haidian District, Beijing, the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC).

Deacons (Beijing) Intellectual Property Agency was founded in September2013. It provides trademark searches, applications,registration, opposition, and declarations of invalidity; copyright matters,customs-related IP rights cases, and other issues connected with IP enforcementand protection, to both Chinese and international clients.  Deacons' IP team, which is ranked as Band 1 byChambers China, has one of the largest specialist IP teams in Greater China,with 125 staff in total, of which 46 are qualified lawyers and professionalstaff members. The firm works with more than half of the world's 100 best knownand most valuable brands (as measured by Interbrand).

After entering China in 1986, Deacons was the first foreign law firm to secure three licensed offices in the country.Today its Greater China team consists of 243 lawyers. In addition to itsheadquarters in Hong Kong, the firm has three representative offices inBeijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, and an Intellectual Property Agency office inBeijing.

Commenting on the anniversary, Annie Tsoi, Co-Head of Deacons' Intellectual Property Departmentand Head of China IP Practice Group, said: "We are proud of the success that our IP Agency has achieved in thepast five years, and we are committed to growing the team in the coming monthsand years as China continues its incredible transformation as a world economicpower."

China has significantly enhancedits Intellectual Property regime, mostly notably, establishingthree specialised IP Courts in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou and 15specialised IP Tribunals across 10 provinces and two cities or municipalitiesin China since 2014. In addition, a decision has been made to create an IntellectualProperty Court within the Supreme People's Court(SPC) to serve as a national IP appellate court. Alongside legislative change,the country has seen greater enforcement, with patent enforcement cases andpatent disputes rising to 66,649 and 28,157 in 2017[1],increases of 36% and 35% respectively on the preceding year.

In parallel, the Chinese Government hasadopted a consistent approach to supporting local companies, particularly inthe technology sector, to expand outside of China. Trademark and patent applications fromChinese companies overseas have increased dramatically since 2014, and at amuch faster pace than any other country, including an eightfold surge intrademark applications to 50,000 in the United States from Chinese companies, asof 2017. Among the top 15 origins of PCT applications, China is the onlycountry to have recorded double-digit annual growth of 13.4%.  According to the World Intellectual PropertyOrganization[2], itis estimated that China will overtake the U.S. within three years as thelargest source of applications filed under the WorldIntellectual Property Organization's Patent Cooperation Treaty.

Looking ahead to 2019, AnnieTsoi observed: "China is fast becoming a major competitor on theglobal stage of high-value manufacturing, and aligned with this, significantprogress has been made by the Central Government to foster stronger IPprotection as innovation sweeps the country and Chinese firms and brands expandinternationally. 

"Theintroduction of the new e-commerce law which comes into effect on the 1^stJanuary 2019, the clampdown on trademark squatters, the recent opening of aninternet court in Beijing, last month's launch of the Shanghai TrademarkOverseas Protection Office, and the Government's continued support for local technologycompanies to expand outside of China, underscore the complex and rapid changethat is underway. It is imperative that companies both large and small arefully cognisant of how these changes might affect them and they must ensurethat they are taking adequate measures now to comply and to protectthemselves."

NOTESTO EDITORS:

Deacons(Beijing) Intellectual Property Agency

Deacons (Beijing)Intellectual Property Agency was founded in September 2013, under the soleownership of Deacons, to provide our clients with a range of intellectualproperty (IP)-related services, including trademark searches, applications,registration, opposition and declarations of invalidity, as well as IPprotection. Deacons (Beijing) works closely with the team based in Hong Kong tooffer IP consultation services, including trademark applications, IPenforcement, commercial IP planning and strategy, and IP-related litigation.With many years of experience, we are well placed to help our clients establishand strengthen their overseas businesses while also assisting them withprotecting and developing their valuable IP portfolios.

OurIP team is committed to providing our clients with practical insights about allaspects of their IP needs, and offering a range of services in China, Hong Kong andoverseas.

Deacons

Deacons is Hong Kong's premierindependent firm. We provide an extensive range of legal and commercialservices to local and international corporations. With over 165 years ofexperience in providing legal services, our clients are assured of the integrityand stability of one of the region's oldest and most respected law firms. Ourprincipal service areas include: Banking & Finance, Capital Markets, ChinaTrade & Investment, Construction, Corporate and M&A, Employment &Pensions, Investment Funds, Insolvency & Restructuring, Insurance,Intellectual Property, Litigation & Dispute Resolution, Private Clients,Real Estate, Regulatory and Tax.

https://www.deacons.com.hk/