Recently, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) launched the "WIPO Lex Trade Secrets Case Law Collection" database on the official website, which includes 13 trade secret judgments rendered by Chinese courts, placing China alongside the United States with the largest number of entries.

The database currently contains 66 judgments from nine countries. China and the United States each account for 13 cases, followed by India with 12, Germany with 11, the Republic of Korea and Italy with 5 each, Brazil with 4, the United Kingdom with 2, and Tanzania with 1. The 13 judgments rendered by Chinese courts stem from the following: the "Natural Protease 3" Case, "Rubber Antioxidant" Case, "Automotive Chassis" Case, "Shenyang Blower" Case, "Dragon World" Project Code Case, "Carbomer" Case, "Vanillin" case, "Melamine" Case adjudicated by the Intellectual Property Court of the Supreme People's Court; the "Reflective Material" Case by the Henan High People's Court; the "Eli Lilly" Case by the Shanghai First Intermediate People's Court; the Case of "Spoiler" of Unreleased Game Characters by the Shanghai Pudong New Area People's Court; the "Lentinan" Case by the Nanjing Intermediate People's Court of Jiangsu Province; and the "Intelligent Retrieval Algorithm" Case by Shenzhen Intermediate People's Court of Guangdong Province.

(Source: Official WeChat account of the Supreme People's Court of the People's Republic of China)

Recently, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) announced the 33 finalists for the 2026 Global Awards, with six Chinese enterprises making the cut.

The six shortlisted Chinese enterprises are: Botree Recycling, for its lithium battery recycling, and Phabuilder, for its low-cost microbial bioplastics, were shortlisted as a small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) and a startup respectively in the environment sector; in the health sector, ArteryFlow was shortlisted as the SME with its Artificial Intelligence (AI) cardiovascular diagnostic platform, Raynovent was shortlisted as the SME with its drug-resistant influenza medication, and Regend Therapeutics was shortlisted as a startup with its lung tissue regeneration technology; and Rokid was shortlisted as the SME in the information and communication technology (ICT) sector for its augmented reality (AR) display AI glasses.

The list of winners will be unveiled live on Friday, July 10, during the Assemblies of the Member States of WIPO in Geneva.

(Source: WIPO China)

Case Brief

Gear Up International Limited is the owner of registered trademarks " " and " " for a globally renowned streetwear brand that entered the Hong Kong market in 1994. Gear Up acquired exclusive rights to the registered trademark " " in the Chinese mainland in 2001 and opened counters and specialty stores there in 2011. Since the 1990s, this streetwear brand has enjoyed global prestige for its unique design style and high-quality craftsmanship. In 2013, a natural person surnamed LUO in Guangdong Province squatted the trademark " " for "headphones" under Class 9 and registered a shadow company, , incorporating the trade name "EVISU", in Hong Kong. Subsequently, LUO and his wife squatted multiple trademarks including "Evisu" and " ". Starting in 2017, LUO and his wife fabricated evidence of trademark use through extensive "click farming" and promoted and sold the infringing headphones across platforms such as Taobao, Pinduoduo, Facebook, and their self-built websites, further expanding the scale of infringement. Since 2017, Gear Up, as the plaintiff, has continuously safeguarded its rights through administrative procedures, including objections, invalidation, and cancellation for non-use over three consecutive years. In 2022, the trademark " " squatted by LUO was officially revoked following a cancellation procedure due to non-use in three consecutive years, and Gear Up filed a civil lawsuit in December of the same year.

Ruling of the Court

The Shenzhen Intermediate People's Court ruled in the first instance that LUO and other defendants infringed upon the involved well-known trademark rights of Gear Up. Furthermore, their refusal to submit financial materials regarding the manufacture and sale of the accused products without justifiable grounds constituted obstruction of adducing evidence. Consequently, the court ordered LUO and others to cease the infringement, publish a clarifying statement, and compensate for economic losses and reasonable expenses totaling RMB 1 million. Unsatisfied with the first-instance judgment, LUO and other defendants filed an appeal with the High People's Court of Guangdong Province. In the second instance, the High People's Court of Guangdong Province upheld the original judgment. Given the significance of the case, following the public announcement of the verdict, the presiding judge provided a "Judge's Commentary" on the critical issues, and the High People's Court of Guangdong Province further invited renowned industry experts to deliver a public commentary on the case.

Typical Significance

This case marks the first time that the globally renowned streetwear brand EVISU has secured protection for its well-known trademarks " " and " " in China. Through a combination of civil infringement litigation and administrative rights prosecution, Unitalen not only effectively halted the trademark-infringing activities but also uprooted the squatted trademark that had persisted for over a decade, achieving a complete victory in both administrative and civil proceedings!

Case Brief

Lanhai Intelligent Equipment Manufacturing Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Lanhai") is a manufacturer specializing in tunnel machinery, including rock drilling rigs, anchor-bolt drilling rigs, arch-erecting and anchor-bolt rigs, wet-mix shotcrete manipulators, and tunnel boring machines (TBMs). Its products are widely used in highway, mining, water conservancy, and hydropower tunnel engineering, making it a leading domestic provider of integrated, complete sets of intelligent equipment. The company has successively obtained qualifications and certifications, including High-Tech Enterprise; Specialized, Refined, Differential, and Innovative "Little Giant" Enterprise; National Intellectual Property Advantageous Enterprise; Sichuan Provincial Enterprise Technology Center; and Chengdu Academician (Expert) Innovation Workstation.

One of Lanhai's best-selling arch-erecting rigs was entirely counterfeited by a competitor, resulting in a loss of market share, a decline in orders, and severe commercial damage. Consequently, Lanhai initiated patent protection procedures to curb the infringement and restore its competitive advantage through legal means. Upon accepting the commission, Unitalen formulated an evidence-preservation plan and litigation strategy and subsequently submitted the lawsuit materials regarding the infringement dispute over the selected patent to the Chengdu Intermediate People's Court.

Key Nodes for Patent Protection

Before initiating patent protection, selecting appropriate target patents is a key prerequisite for determining a case's success or failure. Upon accepting the commission, the Unitalen team, in collaboration with the client's technical department, thoroughly reviewed the patent portfolio technically correlated to the accused infringing product. Subsequently, a comprehensive evaluation was conducted across multiple dimensions, including the solution of the accused infringing product, an infringement comparison analysis, the difficulty of gathering infringement evidence, patent stability, as well as the patent's core contribution and significant proportion within the overall technical solution of the infringing product. Based on this thorough assessment, the target patent for protection was ultimately determined.

In response to the risk that the defendant might transfer assets, the Unitalen team promptly initiated property preservation procedures during the litigation, successfully freezing multiple of the defendant's bank accounts. This move not only effectively curbed the further expansion of the infringing activities but also secured the defendant's debt-paying ability in advance, providing a solid guarantee for the eventual enforcement of damages, and achieving comprehensive protection of the client's rights and interests.

During the litigation, the defendant filed two rounds of invalidity requests against the two patents at issue with the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA). Based on these requests, the Chengdu Intermediate People's Court twice ordered the suspension of the litigation proceedings. Notably, the second round of suspension occurred after the first-round invalidation decision had already upheld the validity of the patent rights, the case had resumed, and the court hearing had been completed. In the face of these two rounds of invalidity challenges, the Unitalen team comprehensively and systematically evaluated the patent's stability and the likelihood of establishing infringement and made adaptive amendments to the claims. Ultimately, the two invalidation decisions across the two rounds for both cases ruled that, on the basis of the amended claims, the patent rights at issue shall be maintained as valid.

Following the resumption of the litigation proceedings, the Unitalen team submitted opinions on systematic infringement for the amended claims. Based on these submissions, the court conducted a substantive trial and subsequently ruled that the infringement in both cases was established, ordering the defendant to compensate Lanhai Intelligent Equipment Manufacturing Co., Ltd. for its economic losses.

Case Information

Plaintiff: Cement Association of [Redacted] Province (hereinafter referred to as the "[Redacted] Cement Association")
Defendant: Administration for Market Regulation of [Redacted] Province (hereinafter referred to as the"[Redacted] Provincial Administration for Market Regulation")
Defendant: State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR)

Case Brief

The [Redacted] Cement Association is a legally established industry association primarily responsible for providing guidance and coordinating the cement industry. In May 2019, the [Redacted] Provincial Administration for Market Regulation received a whistleblower report alleging that the [Redacted] Cement Association had organized industry enterprises to jointly raise prices, constituting a suspected violation of the Anti-Monopoly Law. Following a lawful investigation, the [Redacted] Provincial Administration for Market Regulation issued an administrative penalty decision in June 2022. It determined that the [Redacted] Cement Association had organized and promoted 13 cement enterprises in a certain region of [Redacted] Province to repeatedly enter into horizontal monopoly agreements to uniformly increase cement product prices, and had coordinated the participating enterprises in implementing these agreements. Consequently, the administration ordered the association to immediately cease the illegal activities and imposed a fine of RMB 500,000. Dissatisfied with the decision, the [Redacted] Cement Association filed an application for administrative reconsideration with the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR), which subsequently issued a reconsideration decision upholding the original penalty decision. The cement association then filed an administrative lawsuit with the Beijing Intellectual Property Court, seeking revocation of both the administrative penalty decision and the administrative reconsideration decision. Upon hearing the case, the Beijing Intellectual Property Court held that the evidence of record was sufficient to prove that the [Redacted] Cement Association had engaged in organizing business operators in the industry to reach and implement horizontal monopoly agreements. It further found that the challenged administrative penalty decision and administrative reconsideration decision were supported by clear facts, correct in the application of law, and lawful in procedure. Accordingly, the court ruled to dismiss the association's claims. The [Redacted] Cement Association filed an appeal, but the Supreme People's Court dismissed it and upheld the original judgment.

Summary of Judgment

Where an industry association provides a communication platform to facilitate collusion among business operators, by means such as establishing WeChat groups, convening industry meetings, or organizing social gatherings, and coordinates, induces, or promotes such business operators in reaching and implementing monopolistic agreements, such conduct constitutes the organization by an industry association of business operators in the industry to engage in monopolistic activities, which is prohibited by the Anti-Monopoly Law.

Typical Significance

As the first administrative anti-monopoly case involving an industry association, this series of cases addresses the practical needs of anti-monopoly governance in China, clearly providing feasible and referable guidance for industry associations to perform their duties in accordance with the law, for anti-monopoly enforcement authorities to achieve precise enforcement, and for judicial organs to render impartial judgments. Furthermore, it highlights the judiciary's responsibility and commitment to maintaining a fair competition order and to serving and safeguarding the development of a unified national market.

(Case Source: 2025 Annual Cases from Official WeChat account of the Beijing Intellectual Property Court)

Recently, Managing IP, an international authoritative media outlet, announced the 2026 IP STARS China recommendation rankings. Unitalen Attorneys at Law was named as an "IP Stars" recommended firm across several key areas, including Patent Prosecution, Patent Disputes, Trade Mark Prosecution, Trade Mark Disputes, and Copyright.

Meanwhile, Deputy Director LI Deshan, Attorney WU Shuchen and Attorney SUN Changlong, were awarded the title of "Patent Star 2026", Attorney HOU Yujing was awarded the titles of "Patent Star 2026" and "Trade Mark Star 2026", while Attorney LI Bing was awarded the title of "Notable Practitioner".

Recently, the international authoritative intellectual property media outlet IAM (Intellectual Asset Management) announced the selection results of the "IAM Patent 1000" in 2026, and Unitalen Attorneys at Law has once again been awarded a Top-tier firm and has been on the list of the annual recommended firms in the two fields of "Patent Prosecution" and "Patent Litigation" for 12 consecutive years.

Meanwhile, Deputy Director LI Deshan was recognized as an outstanding individual in the two fields of "Patent Litigation" and "Patent Prosecution", and Deputy Director LI Yang, Attorney WU Shuchen and Dr. PAN Wei were recognized as outstanding individuals in the field of "Patent Prosecution".

Recently, Asia IP, an international authoritative intellectual property media outlet, released the list of winners of the 2026 China IP Awards. Unitalen Attorneys at Law has once again been named on the recommendation lists for "Patent Prosecution", "Patent Litigation" and "Trademark Prosecution", and was honored with the award "Regional Awards-Firms of the Year (Beijing)" for the 6th consecutive year!

Meanwhile, according to the results of the 2026 Trademark Survey, Unitalen was ranked Tier 1 in China for both Trade Mark Disputes and Trade Mark Prosecution.