CNIPA / U.S. Bar Liaison Council

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Since 2011

Our History

A continuing dialogue between the U.S. intellectual property community and China’s intellectual property authorities

Participants pose on stage before the blue 2023 China–U.S. intellectual property practice symposium backdrop.
Participants at the 2023 Beijing intellectual property practice symposium.

The CNIPA/U.S. Bar Liaison Council began as a collaboration among U.S. bar and intellectual property law associations seeking a regular forum for exchange with China’s State Intellectual Property Office, then known as SIPO and now CNIPA. Meetings, symposia and professional visits have brought participants together to discuss patent and trademark law and practice in both countries.

These photographs and selected milestones trace the Council’s development from its founding in 2011 through its 2023 delegation visit to Beijing and Guangzhou.

Explore the years: 2011 · 2012 · 2013 · 2014 · 2016 · 2017 · 2018 · 2021–2022 · 2023

December 15, 2011

The Council is established

The Council was formally constituted and adopted its bylaws during an organizing teleconference on December 15, 2011. Its founders drew on the experience of U.S. bar liaison councils working with the European and Japanese patent offices, with C. Frederick Koenig III elected as the Council’s first Chair.

April 23, 2012

The first annual meeting in Beijing

The inaugural annual meeting took place at SIPO in Beijing. Discussions addressed patent examination and practice, including amendments, examination backlogs and international cooperation. An academic exchange followed that afternoon at the Graduate University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

The visit established a pattern of direct professional discussion, supported by opportunities to share technical knowledge and compare experiences across the two systems.

Participants seated around a meeting table in Beijing.
Discussion during the Council’s 2012 Beijing visit.
Two participants speaking across a conference table.
An exchange of views at the 2012 meeting.
A presenter at a lectern labeled Graduate University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
Academic exchange at the Graduate University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, 2012.
Two participants shake hands while holding a folder.
A formal exchange during the 2012 visit.
A delegation group outside a building during the 2012 visit.
Council delegates during the 2012 Beijing visit.
Participants pose together in the meeting room.
Participants at the inaugural Council meeting in Beijing, 2012.

June 3, 2013

A joint symposium in New York

The second annual meeting brought Council, SIPO and All-China Patent Attorneys Association participants to Cardozo Law School in New York City. The symposium examined Chinese patent law in the morning and U.S. patent law in the afternoon, covering disclosure, employee inventions, patent amendments, infringement and patent eligibility.

Speakers and moderators pose beside a Cardozo Law School lectern.
Speakers and moderators at the June 3, 2013 New York symposium.
Two speakers at the front of the symposium exchange a presentation item.
A welcome exchange at the 2013 New York symposium.
Attendees listen from tiered classroom seating.
Audience members at the 2013 symposium.

2014

Returning to Beijing

The Council returned to Beijing for a Council meeting and symposium, continuing the exchange between U.S. practitioners and their Chinese counterparts.

Delegates hold a discussion across a long conference table.
Council meeting in Beijing, 2014.
A speaker addresses an audience in front of a patent-practice symposium backdrop.
Beijing symposium on China–U.S. patent practice, 2014.

2016

Meetings in Beijing and Suzhou

The 2016 visit combined a Council meeting and symposium in Beijing with a visit to Suzhou. The program offered further opportunities for discussion and exchange beyond the formal meeting room.

Panelists sit at the front of a seminar room.
A panel during the Council’s 2016 meetings.
Panelists speak in front of a backdrop identifying the 2016 China–U.S. patent-practice symposium.
The 2016 symposium on China–U.S. patent practice.
A landscaped campus with a modern institutional building.
A campus visit in Suzhou during the 2016 program.

December 2017

Continuing dialogue in the United States

The Council met with visiting SIPO representatives in the United States. Photographs record roundtable discussions, while materials from this period include an introduction to IP5 and ID5 cooperation among major patent and design offices.

Delegates sit on both sides of a long meeting table with U.S. and Chinese flags.
A Council discussion during the 2017 U.S. visit.
Participants listen across a conference table during the 2017 meeting.
Participants in the December 2017 discussion.
A participant speaks while others listen at the meeting table.
An exchange of views during the December 2017 meeting.

2018

Beijing and the Hubei Center

The Council’s 2018 activities included meetings in Beijing and a visit to the CNIPA Hubei Center, adding another opportunity to learn about China’s intellectual property institutions through direct engagement.

Delegates pose outdoors in front of the Hubei Center campus building.
Delegates during the 2018 Hubei Center visit.
Visitors view an exhibition wall labeled Development History.
A tour of the Hubei Center in 2018.

2021–2022

Professional exchange online

Virtual programs sustained the exchange during the pandemic. The 2021 China-U.S. IP Policy Program took place on December 8–9 in U.S. Eastern time, corresponding to December 9–10 in Beijing, with sessions on patent law, trademark law and practice.

A further program on December 6–7, 2022, U.S. Eastern time, or December 7–8 in Beijing, brought Chinese and U.S. perspectives together on developments in patent and trademark law.

2023

A delegation visit to Beijing and Guangzhou

The 2023 delegation met with the CNIPA Reexamination Board and the Beijing IP Service Center, and visited the Guangzhou IP Satellite Office. The trip also included discussion with business leaders on trademarks.

On December 14, the China-U.S. Trademark and Patent Law and Best Practice Conference took place at Park Plaza Beijing Science Park. Its program addressed trademark developments, e-commerce IP policies and patent practice, extending the Council’s exchange across a broad range of professional issues.

Beijing

Delegates in a meeting with CNIPA representatives around a conference table.
Meeting with CNIPA’s Reexamination Board during the 2023 visit.
A tall institutional office building with the CNIPA emblem above its entrance.
CNIPA offices visited during the 2023 Beijing program.
Participants sit around a U-shaped meeting table.
Discussion at the Beijing IP Service Center, 2023.
A speaker presents from a lectern beside a projected slide.
A presentation at the 2023 Beijing trademark and patent conference.
A speaker stands at a lectern before a blue bilingual symposium backdrop.
The 2023 China–U.S. intellectual property practice symposium.
Delegates and CNIPA representatives pose before the CNIPA emblem.
Council delegates and CNIPA representatives during the 2023 Beijing visit.

Guangzhou

Delegates view exhibits during an office visit in Guangzhou.
A visit to the Guangzhou IP Satellite Office, 2023.
Representatives meet around a long conference table.
Discussion during the 2023 Guangzhou office visit.
Business representatives and delegates sit around a large U-shaped meeting table.
Discussion with Guangzhou business leaders on trademarks, 2023.
Delegates and business representatives in discussion around tables in a large meeting room.
A roundtable during the Council’s 2023 Guangzhou visit.

A continuing purpose

Across in-person visits and online programs, the Council’s work has remained grounded in professional exchange: sharing experience, learning about legal developments, and strengthening understanding between participants in the two intellectual property systems.

Meet the Council today · Explore upcoming events

This history draws on Council meeting reports, programs, photographs and the Council’s May 2024 retrospective presentation. Historical organization names and titles reflect the periods described.

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