Recently, a country-specific regional intellectual property thematic project - the United States intellectual property thematic event was held in Beijing, hosted by Beijing Municipal Intellectual Property Office, and co-hosted by Capital Intellectual Property Service Association and Beijing (Zhongguancun) International Intellectual Property Service Hall. The event was hosted by Zhu Dandan, Deputy Secretary General of the Association, and nearly 60 people from innovation subjects and IP service organisations attended the seminar.

 
In his opening speech, the leader of Beijing Municipal Intellectual Property Office introduced the history and culture of Beijing and its scientific and technological innovation resources, and focused on Beijing's achievements in IP creation, protection, application and services, stressing the need to accelerate the development of new quality productive forces, and to actively build an open and internationally competitive innovation ecosystem, to further deepen the reform of intellectual property rights, and to strengthen the application and protection of intellectual property rights, so as to serve the capital's high-quality development. He stressed the need to accelerate the development of new quality productive forces, actively build an open and internationally competitive innovation ecology, further deepen IP reform, strengthen the application and protection of IP, and serve the high-quality development of the capital, and hoped to deepen the co-operation between China and the U.S. in the field of IP and to jointly promote the development of the global IP cause.

In his presentation, Mr Randall Rader, former Chief Justice of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, provided an in-depth analysis of the current state of the U.S. patent system, and in particular the impact on patent law of a series of key court cases and legislative changes in recent years. He mentioned that from the high rate of litigation by non-practising entities, to the passage of the America Invents Act, to several important Supreme Court decisions, all of these have contributed to the overall weakening of the US patent system. Mr Randall Redd also discussed the proposed STRONGER Patent Act, which seeks to strengthen the rights of patent owners and improve the Patent Trial and Appeal Board process. In particular, he noted that despite the many proposed reforms, there are still many challenges to achieving these changes. Ultimately, Mr Randall-Reid emphasised the importance of a balanced IP system and made specific recommendations to address current patent applicability issues.

 Nanan Li from Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP gave an in-depth analysis of how to maximise the likelihood of success in US patent litigation, particularly as it relates to the determination of patent invalidity, quantitative and qualitative assessment of infringement, and the calculation of damages. He emphasised the importance of knowing and choosing the right court, and pointed out the importance of timing, venue and teamwork in patent litigation. In particular, Nanan Li mentioned that understanding the technology, keeping abreast of trends and adapting to local conditions are the keys to success in patent litigation.

 Dentons Partner Timothy Baker and Senior Counsel Liu Zheng analysed the new challenges and opportunities for design patents in the US. Stressing the importance of design patents to protect the appearance of an article, Timothy discussed the impact of recent Federal Circuit cases on design patents, explaining the scope of design patent protection and how it differs from invention patents and trade dress. Zheng Liu discusses the enforcement of design patents before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (and in the district courts) and describes the latest approaches to evaluating infringement and defence strategies in design patent litigation.

 Bo Xiao, a technology consultant from Westerman Hattori Daniels & Adrian LLP, delved into the relationship between artificial intelligence and intellectual property, particularly the challenges and opportunities for innovation that AI poses to traditional concepts of intellectual property. He mentioned that AI is disrupting the traditional IP framework, bringing up issues of authorship and the origin of inventions. The application of AI to copyright, patent and trade secret protection also raises new legal and ethical issues. Xiaobo also discussed the current state of generative AI and its impact on intellectual property, emphasising the importance of increasing transparency and trust in AI.

 In addition, Mao Wang, Partner at Xsensus, LLP, introduced patent prosecution strategies for obtaining strong and enforceable patents in his presentation. He stressed that patent applications should be filed with a focus on broad protection and strong patentability defences, with multiple strategies to improve patent survival at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board and in litigation. Wang Mao also discussed the importance of patent portfolio management, advised Chinese companies to avoid common mistakes when filing U.S. patent applications, and provided detailed suggestions and improvements.

 Finally, the roundtable dialogue was moderated by Professor Daryl Lamm of the Penn State Dickinson School of Law, who, along with a number of experts, discussed key strategies and practice experiences for effectively managing and protecting intellectual property rights in the U.S. market. During the discussion, the experts highlighted the legal environment that needs to be understood and complied with when operating in the US market and how to protect one's innovation and business interests through effective IP management strategies. In addition, the roundtable dialogue covered how to identify and avoid IP risks in the U.S. market, use patent portfolios to enhance corporate competitiveness, and improve the overall level of IP protection through international cooperation and exchange.

 The event aims to promote international exchanges among intellectual property folk, accelerate the promotion of high-level open development, and help the construction of an international science and technology innovation centre and a strong intellectual property city. I and Beijing (Zhongguancun) International Intellectual Property Service Hall will continue to organise IP-related activities in various forms under the guidance of the relevant departments, to build a platform for international exchanges of IP civil society and to tell the story of IP in the capital.