Practical Law, a leading legal know-how service from Thomson Reuters, has recently published a Practice Note entitled "Freedom-to-Operate Study and Opinion (China)", authored by attorneys from Liu Shen & Associates at the invitation of Practical Law.

Developed for in-house counsel and legal practitioners worldwide, the Practice Note provides practical guidance for innovative businesses entering or operating in the Chinese market on identifying, assessing and mitigating patent infringement risks. The Practice Note addresses key aspects of freedom-to-operate (FTO) analysis, including strategies for determining the appropriate scope and timing of an FTO study, considerations specific to foreign businesses under China's patent system, approaches to assessing infringement risks, and the development of corresponding risk mitigation strategies. It also provides detailed guidance on the practical steps involved in conducting an FTO study, covering the entire process from initial client engagement, patent searches and substantive legal analysis to ongoing monitoring and updates. The Practice Note is intended to serve as a practical resource for innovative businesses and their legal advisers seeking to manage IP risks effectively in connection with commercial activities in China.

In preparing the Practice Note, the Liu Shen team drew on its extensive experience in FTO analysis, patent invalidation proceedings, patent infringement litigation and IP due diligence, together with its in-depth understanding of China's patent laws and judicial practice. The team systematically examined the procedural and substantive legal considerations that require particular attention when conducting FTO studies in mainland China, contributing practical, jurisdiction-specific insights to this international legal resource.

Liu Shen provides comprehensive intellectual property legal services to domestic and international clients across a broad range of matters, including FTO analyses for new product launches, patent infringement litigation, patent invalidation proceedings, IP due diligence for start-up initial public offerings (IPOs) and mergers and acquisitions (M&A), domestic and international patent prosecution and portfolio development, trade secret protection, and corporate compliance reviews.

The principal authors of the Practice Note are Stephen ZOU and LIU Guojun, Partners at Liu Shen, and HUA Ying, Attorney-at-Law. LI Qiutong, JIA Zhaonian, WANG Ran and HU Qi also made significant contributions to the preparation of the Practice Note.

 

Read the full Practice Note: Freedom-to-Operate Study and Opinion (China)

Reproduced from Practical Law with the permission of the publishers. For further information, visit practicallaw.com.