Mizar IP

Firm overview:

An ambitious, ‘new generation’ IP law firm, Mizar IP has made significant inroads into China’s saturated intellectual property legal market since its founding in 2018. The boutique firm has shifted its focus from predominately domestic clients to a more international outlook, and is now a formal member of global organisations such as INTA and AIPPI.

Mizar IP’s core expertise is in patents, and the team is structured around technical verticals led by partners with sector specialisms. The firm’s entry into WIPR’s China Patent Rankings for the first time reflects its growing client base of flagship Chinese corporations, increasing volume of premium work, and technical strength.

Team overview:

Mizar IP has built a team of around 130 professionals, including over 40 patent attorneys. The team has particularly strong expertise in telecoms, semiconductors, automotive technologies, AI, medical devices, and materials science.

The firm emphasises the importance of diversity and has a gender-balanced partnership, with a structure that also encourages leadership opportunities for younger professionals early in their careers. It has seven offices across China, strategically located near industrial hubs and innovation clusters.

Co-founding partner Jinjin Yao heads the domestic division of Mizar IP, managing a team of over 80 professionals handling high-volume prosecution work for China’s largest state-owned enterprises in sectors such as automotive, high-speed rail, and telecom. Yao leads internal mentorship and inclusion efforts at the firm. Externally, she is a director of the China Patent Agents Association and a director of Beijing Patent Agents Association.

Managing partner Eric Zhao leads Mizar IP’s cross-border strategy. With almost two decades of experience in patent prosecution and portfolio strategy, and a technical background in semiconductors, telecoms and display technologies, Zhao manages complex portfolios for China’s top telecom and consumer electronics companies.

Key matters:

• National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine: Patent strategy

Mizar IP led the end-to-end patent strategy for the Qingfei Paidu Decoction, a high-profile traditional Chinese medicine formulation promoted for epidemic response. On behalf of the National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, the team assessed the patentability of herbal combination claims, coordinated multi-stakeholder communication with medical institutions, and formulated a claim drafting strategy to maximise protection.

The work involved navigating the cultural and scientific sensitivities inherent in traditional formulations, and filing Chinese patents and leading international expansion efforts through filings in South Korea and Thailand. The granted Chinese patent became a milestone case for IP protection in traditional medicine.

Partners Jinjin Yao and Taihua Xu, and patent attorney Yayun Wang, led the team.

• Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences (CRAES): Water treatment patent portfolio

CRAES engaged Mizar IP to help build and manage a water purification patent portfolio as part of a national-level green technology initiative. The inventions involve wastewater remediation, real-time monitoring, and catalysis.

The team had to translate laboratory-scale chemical innovation into enforceable IP suitable for both Chinese and international prosecution environments. Mizar IP filed a tiered set of patents and led PCT filing to support CRAES’s outbound licensing efforts.

Partner Eric Zhao and patent attorney Guo Xin led the work.

• Beijing CHJ Automotive: Design patent protection

The team was entrusted with securing design patent protection for the LI Auto L9 model, a flagship electric SUV developed by Beijing CHJ Automotive. The goal was to protect the innovation and strategically align patent timing with the company’s commercial rollout.

The work involved navigating the public exposure risk inherent in the automotive industry’s launch cycles. In addition to the filing strategy, the team supported the client in its submission for the China Patent Award; in January 2025 the L9 design patent won the Gold Award, the highest national recognition for design excellence.

On Mizar IP’s team were partners Ruigang Hao, Jinjin Yao, and patent attorney Zhibin Ma.

Clients:

4Paradigm Technology, AutoNavi Software, ByteDance, China Electronics Corporation, China Huaneng Group, China Information Communication Technologies Group, China Mobile Communications Group, China Railway Construction Corporation, Geely Holding Group, Honor Device, Horizon Robotics, Kingsoft Cloud, Li Auto, Meituan, State Grid Corporation of China