On March 17-18, 2017, W&B attorneys Cathy Wu and William Shen attended the 2017 AIPPI China Youth IP Forum held by the International Association for the Protection of Intellectual Property China in Chongli, Zhangjiakou. Although the keynote speeches and all of the discussions were presented in English, the forum also set up a Japanese language sub-forum.

The opening ceremony was presided over by Mr. Li Yi, General Secretary of APPI China, while lectures were presented by AIPPI China President Mr. Tian Lipu and AIPPI Deputy Secretary Mr. Long Chuanhong. The audience included members of AIPPI China branches throughout China, as well as over 100 non-member IP lawyers and patent agents.

The speakers discussed hot-button issues such as patent value, compensation in patent infringement lawsuits; appraising the inventiveness of a patent; the practice and progress of examinations in the electricity sector; supplementary experimental data for chemistry, medicine and biology; IP issues in the life sciences; and patent infringement injunctions and judicial remedies. The forum attracted many IP professionals because it was an ideal platform for young IP lawyers and agents to enhance their foreign language skills and professional abilities.

Cathy Wu and William Shen each delivered keynote lectures on two separate topics. Ms. Wu, speaking for the sub-forum entitled “The Industrial Value of a Patent”, used current Chinese legislation and judicial interpretations along with two illuminating cases, Weng vs. EV Inc. and SDE Inc.” and a 3M case, to discuss the design of a rational policy on remuneration incentives for service inventions, and to provide advice to enterprises on related policy-making. 

In the sub-forum entitled “Compensation in Patent Infringement Lawsuits”, Mr. Shen introduced a method for calculating compensation based primarily on the statutory compensation system that is prevalent in China’s judicial practice, and analyzed the currently low compensation amounts awarded by Chinese courts. He also cited the recent “U Key Patent Infringement Case”, in which the Beijing IP Court granted 50 million RMB at trial, as a means of offering suggestions and analyzing the prospects of increasing the amount of compensation granted in patent litigation.

The two lectures were well-received by the other participants, who engaged in further intensive exchanges on those topics with the two speakers after the lecture.

The non-profit International Association for the Protection of Intellectual Property (AIPPI), established in 1897 and headquartered in Switzerland, maintains branches in nearly 70 countries and regions and boasts over 9,000 members. As one of the most prominent organizations dedicated to IP development and progress, it is the most important non-governmental IP consultancy in the UN World Intellectual Property Organization.