The highly anticipated 5th Intellectual Property Industry Forum (iPiF 2026) was grandly held in Hangzhou from March 31 to April 2, 2026. The event brought together top IP experts, in-house legal elites and judicial representatives at home and abroad for in-depth exchanges on cutting-edge industry trends and practical operational challenges.
As a leading provider of IP legal services in China, multiple partners of Liu Shen were invited to attend the forum. Through keynote speeches and sub-forum moderation, they shared the firm’s in-depth insights and rich practical experience in IP litigation strategies, patent protection practices and other fields, fully demonstrating Liu Shen’s solid professional strength and prominent industry influence.
On March 31, the opening day of the forum, Partner YAO Guanyang delivered a keynote speech entitled Strategic Wisdom in Intellectual Property Litigation. Combining recent patent enforcement cases, he analyzed patent infringement litigation strategies from both plaintiff and defendant perspectives. Based on landmark cases including the window cleaner patent dispute and the RMB 1.65 billion photovoltaic patent licensing case, he elaborated on the logical progression of such proceedings. He pointed out that patent disputes have become an inevitable part of innovation-oriented business operations, and litigation strategies have evolved from pure legal tactics into core components of commercial competition. IP practitioners are therefore urged to upgrade their role from mere technical protectors to strategic tacticians who maximize patent value.
On April 1, themed sub-forums were officially launched. Dr. Stephen ZOU, Partner of Liu Shen, served as moderator of the morning pharmaceutical industry session. With his rigorous yet engaging hosting style, he guided in-depth discussions covering the pharmaceutical test data protection system, Paragraph IV patent challenge litigations, pharmaceutical patent extension precedents and China’s patent term compensation regime for medicines, facilitating fruitful idea exchanges and experience sharing among all participants.
On April 2, Partner WANG Xiao gave a speech at the intelligent manufacturing sub-forum themed Current Dilemmas and Solutions Regarding On-site Inspection Barriers in IP Cases. Drawing on six in-house handled cases and six second-instance judicial precedents, he illustrated typical and atypical scenarios where judicial on-site inspection becomes infeasible. Based on the general principle of adverse presumptions arising from imputable conducts, he analyzed complex factors behind the dynamic shift of burden of proof in judicial practice, as well as the challenges for legal practitioners to accurately grasp judicial adjudication inclinations.
Also on the same day, Partner TU Tao delivered a special speech at the pharmaceutical forum concerning Current Status and Protection Strategies for Medical Use Inventions. Focusing on core issues such as layout planning and practical challenges for medical use inventions supported by clinical trial data, he analyzed existing difficulties and development opportunities by referencing the latest domestic and overseas examination practices and judicial rulings. He emphasized that amid intensifying competition between innovative drugs and generic drugs, establishing multi-layered and forward-looking patent portfolios for medical use inventions plays a vital role in extending product life cycles and consolidating market competitive advantages.
Liu Shen’s in-depth participation in iPiF 2026 fully showcases the firm’s comprehensive capabilities in segmented sectors including IP litigation, biomedicine and intelligent manufacturing, as well as its consistent service philosophy of client-oriented dedication, professional excellence and teamwork spirit. Going forward, Liu Shen will continue to deepen its expertise in intellectual property legal services. With outstanding professional competence and forward-looking vision, the firm will assist innovators in effectively safeguarding intellectual achievements and maximizing IP value amid a volatile business landscape, and contribute professional strength to the high-quality development of the intellectual property industry.
