Watson & Band

Chairman: Mr Frank Qian

Other Management Board Members: Mr George Q Fu, Mr Shenmin Xu, Mr Hero Tao, Mr Xiaosu Zhu, Ms Ze Gao, Mr Joe Liu

Number of Partners: 62

Number of Lawyers: 220

Languages: Chinese, English, German, French, Japanese, Russian, Korean, etc.

Firm Overview: Watson & Band was established in 1995 and is headquartered in Shanghai. It maintains domestic and international branch offices or strategic partner firms in Beijing, Hong Kong, Harbin, Lanzhou, Yantai, Guangzhou, Suzhou, Zhengzhou, Chengdu, Nanning, Kunming, Shanghai (Jinshan), Tokyo, San Francisco and Jakarta, etc. Over the last three decades Watson & Band, adhering to a philosophy of ‘Integrity, Strategy, Professionalism and Dedication,’ has developed into an integrated legal and IP services provider that is represented by Watson & Band Law Offices and Watson & Band Intellectual Property Agent Ltd. Watson & Band’s current scope of practice includes various areas such as intellectual property; corporate and commercial law; data law and IP services; capital market; financial and asset management; restructuring and insolvency; culture, entertainment and sports; construction, real estate and infrastructure; labour and employment; family law and wealth management; trade, customs and tax; litigation and dispute resolution; and investigation, etc.

Main Areas of Practice:

Intellectual Property: Watson & Band, as one of China’s oldest intellectual property service providers with the qualifications as a foreign-related patent agency, continues to occupy a leading position in the IP industry due to its extensive experience. The intellectual property practice group is made up of several hundred professionals including lawyers, agents, engineers, professors, scientific researchers and senior consultants. The group offers IP services in various fields including chemistry, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, mechanics, electronics, communications, data, optics, automation, metallic materials and semiconductors and more. Taking into account client needs for IP prosecution services, Watson & Band has established detailed processing rules, and has developed an automatic electronic monitoring system to ensure procedural immediacy, high efficiency, superb quality and tight security for IP prosecution, designed to avoid potential conflicts of interest and procedural errors.

Corporate & Commercial Services: To meet the particular needs and requirements of its clients, Watson & Band is unmatched in its ability to provide consistent, professional and innovative legal and commercial advice, and to make good use of its long-term cooperative relationships with government authorities and professional intermediary agencies. Watson & Band’s clients in the corporate and commercial area include many leading multinational enterprises in industries ranging from computer software to automobiles, steel, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, machinery, electronics, real estate, retailing, hotels, restaurants, and financial institutions, among others. Services include M&A and corporate restructuring, investment, securities, futures, financing, domestic and overseas stock exchange listings, anti-monopoly enforcement, tax planning, labour law, compliance, corporate governance, private equity, commercial real estate, bankruptcy, IP rights licensing and assignment, IP strategy planning and enforcement, IP due diligence, among others. Meanwhile it provides detailed and comprehensive legal advice covering every step in business operations.

Litigation & Dispute Resolution: Watson & Band has experienced professional litigation and dispute resolution teams comprising former judges, senior lawyers and patent attorneys, legal and IP experts and university professors. Watson & Band’s litigation and dispute resolution services cover various disputes relating to patents, trademarks, copyrights, unfair competition, trade secrets, IP rights licensing and assignment, corporate management, equity of listed companies, corporate M&A, foreign investments, insurance, finance, joint ventures, distribution licensing transactions, maritime issues, real estate, labour, marriage and family, and other civil and commercial cases involving large sums in dispute. To ensure the quality and efficiency of its services, Watson & Band has established specialised teams based on the types of disputes they handle, including patent litigation, trademark/copyright litigation, civil and commercial litigation, as well as a special team for investigation and evidence collection. Professional lawyers and designated employees are assigned to the particular teams in line with their areas of expertise, so that intimate inter-team cooperation can be efficiently carried out in accordance with well-designed litigation strategies, for the ultimate purpose of offering maximum protection for the clients’ legitimate rights and interests.

管理层

事务所主任：钱军亮

其他管委会成员：傅强国、徐申民、陶海荣、朱小苏、高泽、刘一舟

总所合伙人：62位

律师总数：220位

工作语言：中文、英语、德语、法语、日语、俄语、韩语等

事务所概况

华诚律师事务所成立于1995年，总部位于上海，在北京、香港、哈尔滨、兰州、烟台、广州、苏州、郑州、成都、南宁、昆明、上海（金山）、旧金山、东京、雅加达设有分支机构、联络点或战略合作伙伴。三十余年来，华诚秉持“诚信、思远、敬业、进取”的执业理念，逐步打造了以华诚律师事务所和华诚知识产权代理有限公司为代表的综合性法律与知识产权服务平台。目前，华诚的主要业务领域包括知识产权、公司与商事、数据与知识产权服务、资本市场、金融与资产管理、重组与破产、文化娱乐与体育、建设工程、房地产与基础设施、劳动法、家事法与财富管理、贸易、海关与税务、诉讼与争议解决、调查业务等。

知识产权

作为中国历史最为悠久且具有涉外专利代理资质的综合知识产权服务机构之一，华诚凭借丰富的业务经验在知识产权服务领域始终保持领先地位。华诚知识产权团队由数百名专业人员组成，包括律师、专利代理人、工程师、教授、科研人员和高级顾问，服务领域覆盖化学、生物、医药、机械、电子、通讯、数据、光学、自动化、金属材料、半导体等多个技术领域。针对客户在知识产权申请业务上的需求，华诚制定了细致的业务流程规则，并建立了自动化电子监控系统，以确保申请业务处理的及时性、高效性、优质性和保密性，避免潜在的利益冲突和程序性差错。

公司与商事服务

为满足客户的特定需求与目标，华诚凭借与政府部门及专业中介机构的长期合作关系，在提供专业、创新且具有连贯性的法律与商业建议方面拥有突出优势。华诚公司与商事领域的客户包括计算机软件、汽车、钢铁、化工、医药、机械、电子、房地产、零售、酒店、餐饮及金融机构等众多行业的领先跨国企业。服务范围涵盖并购与公司重组、投资、证券、期货、融资、境内外上市、反垄断执法应对、税务筹划、劳动法、合规、公司治理、私募股权、商业地产、破产清算、知识产权许可与转让、知识产权战略规划与执行、知识产权尽职调查等，并为客户商业运营的各个环节提供细致全面的法律建议。

诉讼与争议解决

华诚拥有经验丰富的专业诉讼与争议解决团队，成员包括前任法官、资深律师、专利代理师、知识产权专家以及高校教授等。华诚在诉讼与争议解决领域的服务范围覆盖专利、商标、著作权、不正当竞争、商业秘密、知识产权许可与转让、公司治理、上市公司股权、企业并购、外商投资、保险、金融、合资经营、经销许可交易、海事海商、房地产、劳动争议、婚姻家事等多类型纠纷，以及涉及高额争议标的的其他民商事案件。为保障服务质量与效率，华诚根据案件类型设立了专利诉讼团队、商标/著作权诉讼团队、民商事诉讼团队及调查取证专项团队，并根据律师及指定员工的专业领域将其编入相应团队，通过紧密的团队协作与精细的诉讼策略设计，为客户合法权益提供最大程度的保护。