Global Law Office
Firm overview:
From its founding in 1979, Global Law Office has expanded to become one of China’s largest law firms, serving China-based and international clients with a global perspective. The firm provides one-stop legal services with expertise across numerous sectors and industries, operating with the core values of simplicity, integrity, and positivity.
Trademarks are a cornerstone of GLO’s IP services, and it offers comprehensive services to brands. The team works with clients to develop tailored solutions to protect their trademark rights which encompass registration, portfolio management, enforcement strategies, and risk management.
Litigation is a key aspect of GLO’s trademark practice, and the team has acted on a number of high-profile and complex cases. The firm has extensive experience in handling international trademark disputes. To ensure knowledge and skills are passed on within the firm, GLO has a system of writing summaries of every case it manages which include the focus of the dispute and lawyers’ experience, forming a library of information for future reference.
Team overview:
The firm’s trademark practice operates out of four offices in Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Chengdu. It comprises 22 partners and a further 45 lawyers with significant activity in the area.
Geoffrey (Jianhai) Zha specialises in trademark portfolio management, negotiating IP issues, trademark prosecution and enforcement, domain name issues, and copyright. Clients he has represented include Google, Oracle, BP, Anthropic, Saint-Goban and Mikimoto. Zha also has extensive litigation experience, covering administrative and judicial matters.
Meph (Jia) Gui, former lawyer at King & Wood Mallesons and Baker McKenzie, was one of the earliest practitioners to litigate IP cases in China. A seasoned litigator, Gui advises multinational companies on the full range of IP rights, and he has handled cases recognised by China’s Supreme Court and the Beijing High Court as “Top 10” exemplary cases. He is admitted to practise in China and California.
Wendy (Yongheng) Wu joined the firm as a partner in 2023, having previously worked at MWE China Law Offices, McDermott Will & Emery, and Baker McKenzie. Wu has practised for nearly two decades and has helped shape trademark law in China. She focuses on cross-border IP issues and dispute resolution, and has served clients including international luxury brands and leading companies in high-tech, consumer goods, life sciences and more.
Key matters:
- TNSG Biotech: Representation in global disputes
Global Law Offices represents TNSG Biotech, which owns infant and child nutrition brands 童年时光 and Inne, in a series of global disputes with US children’s nutrition brand ChildLife.
The complex series of disputes involved claims of trademark infringement, unfair competition, copyright infringement and more, initiated or defended by both parties in multiple courts across Mainland China. GLO is also coordinating and managing civil litigation in California and Hong Kong.
The disputes concerned numerous challenging issues in various IP fields, including determining ownership of related IP assets in the case of a “dual-brand” situation, determining the legitimate use of registered trademarks, and managing the “repetitiveness” of different civil litigations.
Litigation in China, Hong Kong and California is all ongoing. GLO’s team is led by partners Jinrong Liu, Jack Zhanke Li and Xiaorong Zhang and also includes lawyers Huiting Jia and Weizhou Li.
- Guangdong Little Genius Technology: Trademark litigation
The team represents intelligent learning devices supplier Guangdong Little Genius Technology, in a trademark infringement lawsuit filed by Readboy Education Technology, a well-known listed company and business competitor.
Readboy initiated the case at the end of 2022, based on its registered trademark ‘Little Genius’ designated for the goods “children’s books with electronic sound devices”, claiming large damages with regards to Little Genius’s children’s computers that were sold more than five years ago.
The matter is ongoing. Partner Jack Zhanke and lawyer Estelle Huiting lead the team for GLO. The team’s work has included analysis of why Readboy holds the ‘Little Genius’ trademark and the difference between real-life products and goods listed in the Nice Classification Book.
- Otsuka Pharmaceutical: Combatting counterfeits and trademark infringement
The firm represents Japanese company Otsuka Pharmaceutical, owner of the renowned beverage brand Pocari Sweat, in a series of disputes involving two groups of counterfeiters based in Hunan and Guangdong. On behalf of Otsuka, GLO has filed trademark infringement and unfair competition civil lawsuits, as well as a package of administrative procedures such as invalidation, opposition and revocation actions.
In one of the cases, GLO obtained a preservation order from the Sichuan High Court in a second instance ruling after an unfavourable first instance ruling—a possible first-case scenario in China.
The civil lawsuits mark the first time Otsuka has taken IP protection action against counterfeiters in Mainland China. The series of cases are complex and involve questions including whether the accused infringing products constitute an excessive use of the defendants’ “registered trademarks”.
The GLO team persuaded the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) to invalidate several of the contested marks. Civil lawsuits and other trademark administrative procedures are ongoing.
GLO’s team is Jinrong Liu (partner), Shujun Liu (partner), Ping Qiao (partner), Haiyan Yu (partner), Jack Zhanke Li (partner), Xiaorong Zhang (partner), Xiaowei Shi (lawyer), Huiting Jia (lawyer), Weizhou Li (lawyer), Zhen Zhong (lawyer).
Clients:
Airbus, AstraZeneca, Carrefour, Hanhui Pharma, Hogene Biotech, Honeywell International, Microsoft, Newrizon, Ningbo Dreamfish Technology, PetroChina Jilin Chemical Engineering, Precision Robotics, Sanofi, Shanghai Pharmaceuticals, Sinopec Group, Sony Music Entertainment, TsingHua University & Nuctech Company, Weltmeister/Weima, Wuhan Lixin Automation Technology, Xiamen Miaobao Technology
