BEIJING, SHANGHAI and SHENZHEN (November 18, 2019) – Perkins Coie is pleased to announce initiatives to strengthen the firm’s presence in China, including the establishment of an Intellectual Property Agency in Beijing, the opening of a new location in the fast-growing technology hub of Shenzhen in South China, and a move to new and larger office space in Beijing.
All three initiatives are part of the firm’s successful growth strategy in China, where Perkins Coie saw an eight-fold increase in clients between 2017 and 2018 and a comparable increase so far in 2019.
“Establishing an IP Agency, entering the Shenzhen market and moving to expanded space in Beijing are just three examples of our continued commitment to helping international clients with their business operations in China and Chinese companies with their outbound transactions and litigation in the United States,” said Bill Malley, Firmwide Managing Partner.
New IP Agency
The Perkins Coie Intellectual Property Agency (Beijing) Co., Ltd. will include offices in both Beijing and Shenzhen and will support Perkins Coie’s substantial Intellectual Property practice in China. The IP Agency is licensed by the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) and is staffed with consultants and paralegals who have extensive experience in the registration, maintenance and enforcement of IP rights in the PRC. Some of the services offered by the IP Agency include trademark registration and portfolio management services; trademark prosecution and disputes before CNIPA; copyright registration, assignment and license recordals; administrative enforcement of trademarks and copyrights; domain name registration and disputes, and other important IP services.
“We are excited to be able to directly offer this important suite of IP services to our clients,” said Scott Palmer, a Beijing-based partner who is leading the IP Agency. “I look forward to working closely with my colleagues in our well-established China IP Group to provide the full range of IP services to our clients in China. This bolsters our strong IP presence in China, and with an office location in Shenzhen, it also puts us squarely in one of China’s most vibrant and burgeoning technology hubs.”
New Shenzhen Location
The firm’s Shenzhen location, a branch of the firm’s Beijing-based IP Agency, is located in the China Resources Tower in the Nanshan District, the city’s high-tech center and fastest-growing area. The firm’s new Shenzhen presence will position Perkins Coie to serve clients in Guangdong Province and across South China. With close proximity to Hong Kong, Shenzhen has rapidly evolved as a key area for life sciences, information technology, advanced manufacturing, disruptive technology, and aerospace and transportation technology.
“Expanding our footprint into Shenzhen underscores Perkins Coie’s worldwide focus on key technology markets and serving clients in the technology and related sectors,” noted Malley.
New and Expanded Beijing Office
The firm’s move to new and larger space on the 35th floor of Tower 1 in Beijing’s landmark China World complex, in the heart of the city’s Central Business District, will accommodate the continued growth of its roster of lawyers and legal consultants, who currently practice in areas including intellectual property, international trade, foreign direct investment, corporate, labor, litigation and arbitration, e-commerce and data privacy.
“Clients have responded well to our services in China over the past 20 years, and we are deepening our presence here to meet their growing demand for our counsel,” said Malley. “Our new and larger office in Beijing, along with the new IP Agency here and in Shenzhen—combined with the great talent we’ve added here in recent years—are all examples of the continued investment we are making in this important market.”
In addition to Partner Scott Palmer, the firm’s Beijing office is led by Office Managing Partner Michael House and Business Partner James Zimmerman, a long-time Beijing resident. In Shanghai, the firm’s office includes Patent Law Counsel Yingli Wang and Louise Lu and is led by Office Managing Partner Geoffrey Vance.
Perkins Coie is a leading international law firm that is known for providing high value, strategic solutions and extraordinary client service on matters vital to our clients’ success. With more than 1,100 lawyers in offices across the United States and Asia, we provide a full array of corporate, commercial litigation, intellectual property and regulatory legal advice to a broad range of clients, including many of the world’s most innovative companies and industry leaders as well as public and not-for-profit organizations.
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