Wanhuida Law Firm & Intellectual Property Agency

Firm overview:

With a strong litigation and non-contentious practice, Wanhuida is recognised for its large client base and involvement in high-profile matters. Alongside a well-respected trademark practice, the firm has a 120-strong team of patent professionals covering a broad range of technologies, from biochemistry and pharmaceuticals to telecoms and engineering. Wanhuida’s competitive contentious offering “attracts a group of staunch followers” says one peer, while on the non-contentious side the firm is “very efficient” according to a client. Equipped to offer advice on complex matters as well as the latest developments in evolving technologies such as artificial intelligence, Wanhuida’s attorneys regularly speak at events, offering insights this year at forums on AI, chemical IP, compliance and patent licensing.

Team overview:

Management committee member and partner Sam Li has substantial experience practising law in China and the US, having worked for a Washington-based international firm as well as serving as in-house counsel for a major US chemical company. Li has represented multinational companies in patent litigation in Chinese courts, as well as advised life sciences and energy clients on the full spectrum of patent matters.

Beijing partner Yuming Wang has honed his expertise in over 300 lawsuits, including for Bayer in a patent enforcement action that went all the way to the Supreme People’s Court and was selected as one of the 50 exemplary IP cases of that year.

Key matters:

• Wanhuida represented German pharmaceutical giant Bayer in a patent infringement action against two Chinese defendants for selling the client’s anticoagulant drug rivaroxaban. The infringers appealed to the Supreme People’s Court but Wanhuida obtained a favourable verdict for its client and the court used the case to clarify whether the Bolar exemption applies to the act of offering for sale.
• The firm also fended off a patent suit against Procter & Gamble that had claimed RMB 100 million in damages, successfully convincing the Shanghai IP Court to invalidate the patent-in-suit.

Clients:

Bayer, Guangzhou New GEP, Maped, Procter & Gamble, SEB, Stokke