CPA Deputy General Manager Hosts Roundtable in INTA Pre-Annual Meeting Reception in Hangzhou

On 13 March 2025, the International Trademark Association (INTA) Pre-Annual Meeting Reception 2025 was held in Hangzhou, China. China Patent Agent (H.K.) Ltd. (CPA) deputy general manager Mr. Hu Gang attended the event along with Shanghai Office deputy director Mr. Tan Zuoxi, International Filing Department deputy manager Ms. Rachel Zhang and department staff Ms. Zhang Yijin.

The reception gathered more than 200 attendants, including government officials, intellectual property (IP) industry practitioners, and corporate representatives, discussing and exchanging views on latest IP trends and developments.

At the reception, INTA CEO Mr. Etienne Sanz de Acedo delivered a video speech; addresses were also given by Ms. Li Wei, second-level inspector of the Legal Affairs Department of China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT), Ms. Monica Su, chief representative officer of INTA China, Mr. Zhang Hongbin, chairman of CCPIT Hangzhou Committee, and Ms. Zhang Jie, deputy director of the General Office of the Hangzhou Municipal People's Government; and keynote speeches by Mr. Yang Ning, senior partner of NTD Intellectual Property Attorneys, Mr. Zhang Weijun, professor of Guanghua Law School of Zhejiang University, and Mr. Jin Gaoping, legal director of Alibaba Group.

At the invitation of the Intellectual Property Commission of CCOIC Hangzhou (China Chamber of International Commerce Hangzhou Chamber of Commerce), deputy general manager Mr. Hu and four other IP professionals officially joined the commission as think tank experts during the reception, which we embraced as a chance of allowing our firm to continue giving full play to our expertise with contribution to IP development of the locality.

The reception featured a roundtable session, which was hosted by Mr. Hu. Together with Ms. Zhuang Jin, director of Trade in Services Division of Department of Commerce of Zhejiang Province, Mr. Zhang Yan, partner at Lifang & Partners, Ms. Lin Qiuhua, legal director of Ant Group, and Mr. Qian Hang, partner at Beijing Yingke Law Firm (Hangzhou) Office, Mr. Hu shared experience of participating in INTA annual meetings, discussed topics surrounding enterprises' going overseas as related to IP protection strategy, legal risk management, and adapting to international rules, and answered queries from the floor. The roundtable meeting offered multi-perspective thinking and practical advice for the reference of enterprises in trademark and brand protection.

After the roundtable, Mr. Hu and other members of our delegation continued to have in-depth exchanges with the audience from law firms and enterprises in respect of the IP-related problems they encountered, challenges and coping strategies in the course of their going overseas, and new problems and trends in current trademark and patent applications at home and abroad.

INTA Annual Meeting is an important event of the international IP community, and CPA as an industry leader has for the past decades been an active participant of INTA's annual meetings and assumed responsibility initiatively in INTA events. During the 2024 INTA Annual Meeting, we assisted the CCPIT Commercial Legal Service Center in running an exhibition booth to jointly promote CCPIT's commercial legal service and the China International Supply Chain Expo; co-hosted the China Trademark Association Forum and discussed with participants the impact and role of emerging technologies on trademark practice; and we have hosted the INTA pre-annual meeting reception in Shanghai since 2024. Deputy general manager Mr. Hu, a frequent guest of INTA's pre-annual meeting receptions, was invited to the roundtable discussion of the Beijing reception held this February, sharing his experience of participating in the INTA annual meetings and his insights as to business development. As a board member of the INTA, Mr. Hu has participated in many decisions and advancement of projects of the international organisation, including exchanges and seminars held jointly with the World Intellectual Property Organization and IP offices of various countries.