Still not caught up with work/news since I got back from the Netherlands, but a quick note on the IP conference is in order.

Attendance was good – something like 50+ SMEs were represented. Lots of industries were there, although I noted a strong contingent of greentech and engineering firms.

My fellow panel speakers were varied as well, including folks from enterprises that have done business with Chinese firms/government, one Dutch IP lawyer, and a representative of the EU IPR Helpdesk.

The questions were quite general and approached basic China IP issues, including the value of registration, the state of enforcement over here, the unique role of Hong Kong, etc.

There was a lot of back and forth, however, and most of the questions were simply gateways to lengthy conversations on either the topic raised by the question or something else (we got off on several relevant tangents).

At the risk of my reputation for humility (at least I hope I have that reputation), I will admit that because I was the only actual China IP law practitioner on the panel, I ended up speaking about 2/3 of the time. Let’s face it, I deal with these questions on a daily basis, and I’m also currently putting together a series of lectures on China IP law – so these questions were easy lifting for me. Besides, when someone asks a question and the panel falls silent and looks in your direction, what are you supposed to do? I’m a lawyer – I need little encouragement to talk.

I also got the chance to speak with several attendees after the conference. What struck me the most is that these companies are a lot farther ahead with their China plans than the people I used to talk to years ago. Used to be that SMEs were totally clueless. These days, with so much information online and with so many more qualified people from China (or foreigners who have lived over here), it’s so much easier for SMEs to ramp up their in-house knowledge. These guys were by no means experts on China IP, but they knew enough about doing business over here to understand what questions they needed to ask.

So those attendees who approached me after the conference were basically looking for specific advice on their issues, ranging from patent prosecution to tech licensing to software protection. Some cool issues, I have to say.

Anyway, it was a good event and worth the trip. Most of the conferences I attend involve large groups of lawyers, so it’s a nice change to travel outside China and speak to SMEs.

When I catch up with things, I will definitely have a few words on the recent China-U.S. trade dustups, including the auto tire case.