On 22-23 May 2012 representatives from Awapatent participated in the 4th China IP Counsel Conference held in Shanghai. The program was very interesting with many different angles on IP, particularly on how to protect your IP in the best possible way.
A representative from the Chinese Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) opened with a speech about the Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH), a topic which raised many questions from the audience. Then it was time for our contribution: Maria Stenbäck explaining how to draft a patent application, which at the same time meets the requirements set by patent authorities in the USA, Europe and China but without becoming too expensive. Not an easy task!
The following break showed that the Chinese are very interested in hearing news from other areas of the IP world and the networking area was very busy.
Chinese speakers from large companies and research institutes then presented topics varying from how to protect your trade secrets to examples of how IP strategies can be used to improve business. It was obvious that a lot is happening in the Chinese IP community.
During the final panel discussion we noted that the frustration sometimes felt by European companies trying to enforce IP rights in China is shared by Chinese companies, but that they experience that things are changing for the better.
Indeed a very exciting visit to China and we hope to be able to participate in future conferences here in Shanghai.
Maria Stenbäck from Awapatent speaking at the 4th China IP Counsel Conference in Shanghai.
Vibeke Warberg Rohde, European Patent Attorney
Claus Marcussen, Attorney at Law
Maria Stenbäck, European Patent Attorney
