James Luo

Practice Areas

Specialises in civil, administrative and criminal enforcement of trademarks, copyright, unfair competition and other intellectual property rights.

Career

Dr James Luo, managing partner of Lawjay Partners, is widely regarded as the counsel of choice for international clients in the field of intellectual property. Ranked as an Eminent Practitioner by Chambers and Partners and a Thought Leader by Lexology/Who’s Who Legal, he is also hailed among the WTR Global Leaders and WIPR Global Leaders, consistently recognised by WTR 1000 as a band-one leading individual in IP litigation, by Managing IP as a Trademark Star, by Benchmark Litigation as a Litigation Star, and by Legalband and other top legal publications as one of China’s leading IP lawyers. The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) selected him as a member of its panel of arbitrators and mediators. He also serves as an arbitrator at the China European Arbitration Centre. Recently, he was chosen by the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre (HKIAC) to arbitrate a trademark license dispute involving a US company and a PRC licensee, with a claim amounting to over US$700,000,000.

James served as a legal expert on the Supreme Court’s IP Case Law Centre expert advisers committee. In 2013, the Beijing Bar Association recognised him as one of the Top 10 IP Lawyers in Beijing, and in 2015, as an outstanding committee director for chairing the association’s trademark committee, which was also recognised as an outstanding committee. James is the counsel of top luxury brands and world- famous marks. Every year, James and his team represent various international clients in hundreds of civil and criminal lawsuits for trademark and copyright infringement.

Among the victories he has won for top brands are the ‘Playboy ICON’ trademark infringement retrial case at the Supreme Court; the ‘Too Faced & Envy Device’ (‘Envy Device’ is a copyrighted work) trademark opposition retrial case at the Supreme Court, where the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board was ordered to render a new decision, and which was included in the Supreme Court’s 2017 Intellectual Property Annual Report; an award of RMB 4.3 million in damages in a trademark infringement action against an online counterfeiter and its online service provider; and a suit against an OEM that exported counterfeit goods, which won the Quality Brands Protection Committee’s Top 10 IP Litigation Case Awards. Likewise, the Supreme Court and the China National Bar Association respectively ranked the trademark dispute case involving the ‘Zhujiazhuang Bifengtang’ device mark, which he handled at the Supreme Court, as among the top 10 IP litigation cases in China. He currently represents a top international client in a landmark legal battle before the Supreme Court, involving a substantial RMB 30 million claim, making it among the firm’s most significant cases in the past decade. Under his supervision, his team won a precedent-setting lawsuit against an American entity represented by an American lawyer, which improperly registered a business chamber’s tradename as trademarks in different classes in China. The court established for the first time that trademark squatting is a tort under the China Tort Law.

An established legal authority in IP litigation and enforcement, James has over 30 years’ experience in IP law. He is a former IP partner at Bird & Bird and had worked for Baker & McKenzie, Motorola, and prestigious PRC law firms. He once served as chair of INTA’s China anti-counterfeiting sub-committee and vice chair of the Quality Brands Protection Committee (QBPC).

James is highly regarded by top legal ranking organisations for his expertise in intellectual property law. The World Trademark Review commends him as ‘outstanding among trademark practitioners in China for his international knowledge and experience’, noting that ‘global brands, particularly in the luxury sector, appreciate his crystal-clear communication, strategic savvy, and willingness to push at the boundaries of the law in China’. WTR further highlights that James ‘is at the apex of the profession, widely admired by clients and competitors alike’, with one client remarking, ‘James is always creative in coming up with arguments in must-win IP litigation, and his advice is all extremely constructive, helpful, and practical’. Additionally, WTR Global Leaders consistently rank James in the WTR 1000 gold tier, recognising him as ‘a top litigator who consistently works miracles for famous brands faced with complex trademark infringement issues in China’, and praising his ‘unbeatable experience representing household-name brands and working alongside top law firms the world over’, emphasising that he ‘can be counted on for a textbook-worthy performance’. The Legal 500 acknowledges James’s ‘significant experience in trademark and copyright litigation’. Chambers and Partners describes him as a ‘strategically very very savvy’ practitioner who ‘always provides exceptional value for his work’, and is the ‘counsel of choice amongst overseas clients’. Clients interviewed by Chambers remark, ‘I have always thought very highly of James’, and ‘He is efficient and we have confidence in him’. Legalband recognises James as a ‘well-regarded practitioner’ in trademark litigation, especially for representing prominent luxury brands, and commends his ‘impressive expertise and commercial skills’. Who’s Who Legal identifies James as a ‘litigation specialist who regularly represents international clients on high-value disputes’.

Professional Memberships

● Beijing Bar Association

● International Trademark Association (INTA)

● Panel of Arbitrators and Mediators, World Intellectual Property Organization

● Arbitrator, China European Arbitration Centre

Work Highlights

Led landmark retrial cases before the Supreme People’s Court that shaped China’s approach to bad-faith trademark squatting and damages calculation.

Spearheaded multi-jurisdictional anti-counterfeiting campaigns against OEM export fraud and large-scale online infringement networks.

Secured favorable rulings against major e-commerce platforms, setting precedents for platform liability in IP enforcement.

Appointed arbitrator by HKIAC in a high-value cross-border trademark licensing dispute involving international parties.

Developed and implemented global brand protection strategies for Fortune 500 companies operating in China.

Expert in these Jurisdictions

● China (Mainland)

● Hong Kong SAR

● Cross-border disputes involving the EU, the U.S., and other major markets

Languages Spoken

Chinese, English

Education

Awards