Chinese Supreme People’s Court Justice Visits UC Hastings

On February 24, UC Hastings hosted a visit and exchange with Justice Kong Xiangjun, Chief Judge of the Intellectual Property Tribunal of China’s Supreme People’s Court. Justice Kong holds a Ph.D. in law and has published widely in China. Justice Kong's visit to UC Hastings came as part of a one month trip to San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington, D.C. to hold exchanges on intellectual property law.

Justice Kong discussed a broad range of issues with UC Hastings faculty, including the structure of the Supreme People’s Court, recent developments in the Court’s jurisprudence on intellectual property issues, and common challenges faced by the United States and China. Justice Kong noted that the annual number of intellectual property cases handled in Chinese courts has increased significantly over the last decade, a development he attributed in part to changes in China’s domestic economy and the rapid development of the Internet in China.

UC Hastings participants at the exchange included Chancellor and Dean Frank H. Wu, Associate Dean for International and Graduate Programs Joel Paul, Professors Jeff Leftsin, Dana Beldiman, Keith Hand, and Chris Mammen, and Director of International Programs Meri Maffet.

Squire Sanders & Dempsey co-sponsored Justice Kong’s visit and hosted a dinner for participants after the afternoon discussions at UC Hastings. Senior Counsel Alexander Calhoun and Partner Song Zhu represented Squire Sanders.

Justice Kong's visit is the third in a recent series of UC Hastings events focused on intellectual property law in China. In November 2010, UC Hastings co-sponsored a conference with the Asia Society on the protection of intellectual property in China. In December 2010, Professor Jeff Leftsin served as a lead foreign intellectual property expert at a conference organized by the Intellectual Property Affairs Center of the PRC Ministry of Science and Technology.