Providing comprehensive solutions for the acquisition, enforcement and protection of IP.

Clients trust us to protect their most important intellectual property matters.

Members of the team have structured, negotiated and concluded a range of landmark agreements with China, most notably China's intellectual property rights agreements, market access agreement and the comprehensive US-China bilateral agreement that paved the way for China's WTO membership, covering all goods, services and agriculture in the Chinese economy. The team advises Chinese entities on their outbound commercial, investment and trade transactions, including obtaining regulatory approvals, and on the structuring of transactions and defending against trade actions. We have implemented investment strategies, structured business transactions and devised sophisticated market access strategies for multinational companies around the world, and have negotiated with and litigated against virtually every major trading nation, as well as emerging market countries. The firm has represented major multinational companies in investigations across China, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea and Thailand. For one US-based client, we helped reduce or eliminate fines following an antitrust investigation in China, Japan and Korea, securing what has been reported as the largest-ever reduction in fines from the US Department of Justice following its investigation. Additionally, WilmerHale has conducted internal investigations for Asian businesses, including one dealing with alleged kickbacks and extortion by sales representatives and another related to a major US-based manufacturer’s acquisition of a Chinese firm for $300 million.

By patenting their innovations, our clients increase the value of their intellectual property and enhance their ability to compete in the marketplace. We work with laboratory and research teams and R&D and product development groups to determine whether, when and where it is in our clients’ business and technical interests to seek patent protection. And we don’t just file patent applications. Drawing on our experience with patent litigation, corporate financings and technology transactions, we implement IP strategies that conserve resources, add measurable value and give our clients a cost-effective and commercially practical competitive edge.

We help clients obtain more than 750 US and foreign patents each year, covering innovations that span the technological spectrum, including aerospace, biochemistry, biotechnology, business methods, chemistry, computer science, fuel cells, genetics, high-speed data communication, integrated circuits, materials science, medical devices, nanotechnology, pharmaceuticals, semiconductor devices and processes, and software.

We also prepare and prosecute patent applications internationally under the Patent Cooperative Treaty and by working with a network of seasoned patent lawyers around the world. Our experience extends to appeals, interferences and opposition proceedings within the US Patent and Trademark Office, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and the European Patent Office.