It’s not uncommon for law firms to open an wholly owned subsidiary intellectual property agency to become a one-stop shop for IP legal services. Grandall Legal Group is the most recent one to launch its own IP agency, which mainly handles the filing, prosecution, licensing, franchising, administrative enforcement and judicial protection of patents, trademarks and copyrights.
The new business unit, located in Beijing, branches out under the name of Chinareals and is headed by partners, Li Tao (pictured) and Ma Dongxiao. The agency currently consists of 11 IP professionals, all of whom are either qualified patent or trademark agents.
It’s the second major expansion of Grandall’s IP practice. In 2006, the firm acquired a group of experienced IP lawyers, including Ma Dongxiao from Beijing firm Youshilian.
The first six months of 2009 have seen a number of other firms beefing up their IP practice capacities, such as DeHeng (Beijing) and Dacheng, both of which have hired senior IP partners and lawyers, and Rouse & Co. which has also responded to the increasing IP demand by recruiting three other IP specialists this year.
Grandall is currently the fourth largest law firm in China, with more than 420 lawyers across 10 offices.
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