LESI 2021 Virtual Annual Conference was successfully held online from May 27 to 28. The theme of this year's conference is "Maximizing the value of Innovation in an era of Convergence". WIPO's Director-General, Daren Tang, attended the conference and gave a remarkable speech. Our partner, Dr. Qinghong Xu, as the vice-chair of the LESI Patent and Technology Licensing Committee, was invited to give a keynote speech on the topic of "International Protection of Trade Secrets" and participated in discussion with four other panelists.
The conference was held in the form of a global 24-hour marathon of uninterrupted live broadcasts, including 6 plenary sessions, 36 concurrent panels' discussions, and small table discussions. The program focused on technologies and industries converging to create new products, new markets, and new
licensing models:
· How the automotive industry is converging with the communications industry,
· How the healthcare industry is converging with artificial intelligence, and
· How the pandemic is accelerating this convergence and change
Dr. Qinghong Xu spoke on "Trade Secretes in China" in the "International Protection of Trade Secrets" panel, and had in-depth discussions with other four panelists.
In the speech, Dr. Xu focused on:
· Governing law in China about trade secrets protection
· Trade secrets definition and misappropriation remedies
· Issues in civil litigation
· Use of civil and criminal approaches to protect trade secrets
· Technology export/import regulations
Partial Context
In addition, Dr. Qinghong Xu also participated in the small table discussion "DOS AND DON’TS IN LICENSING NEGOTIATIONS" with other speakers. They discussed the common mistakes and helpful tips for IP licensing negotiations noticed in practice in this session.
Dr. Qinghong Xu has been actively involved in various IP-related activities of LESI since she became the vice-chair of LESI Patent and Technology Licensing Committee in 2019. At present, she is working with LES Singapore in the project of drafting a handbook of licensing practice for small enterprises, as well as collaborating with LES local divisions in China, Japan, and Korea to launch the “Kids IP Day” project.
