On December 27, AllBright hosted the 2014 annual meeting of its intellectual property committee at the Shanghai International Conference Center. The meeting was presided over by intellectual property committee director and AllBright partner David Chen. Keynote speakers, representatives of AllBright offices around the country, and intellectual property committee members participated in the meeting.

1.Senior guests delivered keynote speeches covering different aspects of IP protection with different perspectives.

As the first keynote speaker, intellectual property committee senior consultant Mr. Sun Aimin delivered a keynote speech entitled Latest Trends in Intellectual Property Development and Cases, covering topics including the latest intellectual property policies, classic intellectual property cases and new issues concerning intellectual property, to share with the audience his years’ experiences and expertise in handling intellectual property-related cases as a judge. He elaborated on China’s judicial intellectual property protection policies initiated during the fourth plenary of the 18th CPCCC and briefed the audience about the development of dedicated intellectual property courts in Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou and the Higher People’s Court’s plan to establish two circuit courts in Shenzhen and Shenyang. Mr. Sun also shared with audience his experience in intellectual property cases, focusing on case disputes, litigation strategy and legal analysis. He also noted that professional intellectual property lawyers should not only focus on the cases at hand but also pay attention to new types of cases and the latest developments in the area. As a veteran in the area, he discussed several hot topics with the audience to raise their awareness of the latest developments with respect to intellectual property in China.

AllBright partner and Suzhou office managing director Jin Zhongde delivered a speech entitled A Case Study of Chiung Yao versus The Place: the Lost Daughter. The case was in the limelight when the meeting was held as the court of first instance ruled just days earlier in favor of Chiung Yao, the claimant. Mr. Jin analyzed the case with his years of experience in representing clients in the entertainment sector and spoke on his understanding of the ruling: comparisons between the content of work holds the key to copyright infringement because a simple “copy of ideas” is not covered by copyright law. Mr. Jin pointed out that the key finding that supported the claimant’s claims -- there were not only 21 identical scenes that The Place: the Lost Daughter shared with Chiung Yao’s original story but the 21 scenes also appeared in exactly the same order as that in the respondent’s work, which thus constituted remarkable plagiarism and the copyright infringement was supported by these facts. Mr. Jin noted that the case is another testament of China’s growing protection of intellectual property rights.

AllBright Qingdao office partner Jia Xiaoning delivered a speech entitled Intellectual Property Customs Protection, elaborating on three segments: PRC Customs Organizational Structure and Intellectual Property Protection Function Establishment, Customs Intellectual Property Status Quo and Law Enforcement Challenges, Intellectual Property Customs Protection and Lawyers’ Work. Mr. Jia has full knowledge of intellectual property customs protection affairs as he had worked for the Qingdao Customs and the Department of Policy and Laws at the General Administration of Customs. China’s intellectual property customs protection is currently limited by its complex enforcement procedures and lack of policy support. However, its significance is set to grow and will no longer be exclusively limited to multinational companies or luxury houses amid China’s strengthening protection of intellectual property. Mr. Jia’s speech enlightened the audience with new legal perspectives.

Dong Wentao, who used to be a judge at the Shanghai Yangpu District People’s Court, delivered a keynote speech entitled Copyright Protection in the Big Data Era to share with the audience his years of trial experiences in handling copyright cases and his understanding of copyright law. He also briefed the audience about the latest developments in cloud computing and other new technology and relevant legal issues to broaden their view.

AllBright partners Leo Zheng and Mitchell Liu briefed the audience about their project entitled Intellectual Property Financial Leasing Innovations and Practices to conclude the meeting. The two experienced lawyers shared with the audience the backdrop, main ideas and necessity of the project and pointed out the methods to make full use of intellectual property’s economic value via sales and leasebacks as well as other innovative means. They also noted that market needs more innovative intellectual property financial services besides rights transfers, authorizations, and pledges, etc.

2. Summary of 2014’s work and looking forward to 2015

The five keynote speeches triggered lively discussions. Intellectual property committee director and AllBright partner David Chen concluded the discussions with insightful comments, made a summary of AllBright’s work with respect to intellectual property issues in 2014 and made several suggestions regarding the work in 2015, including publicizing AllBright Intellectual Property Cases. The 2015 annual meeting of the committee will be held in Qingdao and invitations are being sent out to reach to more AllBright lawyers. Mr. Chen also suggested more effective ways to strengthen the communication between committee members. The audience also spoke out on their views on improving the committee’s work and strengthening business cooperation.

A gala dinner was held afterwards to conclude the whole event.