Joe Liu

Mr. Yizhou Liu graduated from the Shanghai University of International Business and Economics and has worked for Watson & Band Law Offices ever since. He is presently the partner of Watson & Band’s copyright and trademark department.

Mr. Liu is particularly dedicated to in dispute resolution involving intellectual property rights and commercial disputes. Since the start of his legal practice in 2007, he has provided legal services for renowned companies from various industries including fashion and luxury goods, food and drinks, culture and entertainment and the Internet.

In the IP litigation area, Mr. Liu is particularly adept in cases involving trademark infringement, copyright infringement and unfair competition. In 2009, Mr. Liu successfully represented a Shanghai TV station in a copyright infringement action against a local company. The case was selected by Shanghai Copyright Bureau as one of the “Top 10 Typical Copyright Cases for the Year 2010”.

In 2016, the copyright infringement case Jin Yong vs. an online game operator and the trademark infringement case concerning the geographic indication of “West Lake Long Jing” that Mr. Liu represented for the clients were both elected into the “Top 10 Cases of Judicial Protection for IP Rights for the Year 2015” by the Shanghai High People’s Court.

In 2017, in the enforcement action for a well-known Italian luxury brand, Mr. Liu and his team successfully helped the brand be identified as a well-known trademark in China for the first time; meanwhile, the team petitioned with the Shenzhen Court for a preliminary injunction, and thus timely and effectively curbed occurrence or continuance of the infringement in the relevant stores during the litigation proceedings.

The series of “UL” trademark infringement cases that Mr. Liu and his team represented for the client, throughout the past few years, have been selected as one of the “Top 10 IP Cases for the Year 2018” by the Supreme People’s Court, one of the “Top 10 IP Cases for the Year 2017” by the Shanghai Higher People’s Court and one of the “Top 10 Innovative IP Cases for the Year 2015” by the Beijing Higher People’s Court

Also, Mr. Liu is a member of the Competition and Anti-monopoly Research Committee of Shanghai Bar Association.

Typical cases handled by Mr. Liu and his team:

• (2018) SPC Civil Retrial No.396, the trademark infringement case UNIQLO Trading Co., Ltd. vs. Guangzhou Zhinanzhen Exhibition Services Co., Ltd. and others (among 2018 Top 10 IP Cases in Chinese Courts)
• (2014) Hu Yi Zhong Min Wu (Zhi) Chu Zi No. 114, the trademark infringement case UNIQLO Trading Co., Ltd. vs. Guangzhou Zhinanzhen Exhibition Services Co., Ltd., Guangzhou Zhongwei Enterprise Management Consulting Services Co., Ltd. and others (among 2016 Top 10 IP Cases in the Shanghai Higher Court)
• (2015) Yang Min San (Zhi) Chu Zi No. 55, adaptation right infringement case Perfect World (Beijing) Software Co., Ltd. vs. Shanghai Blaze Fire Network Technology Co., Ltd., Fujian Borui Network Technology Co., Ltd. and others (among 2015 Top 10 IP Cases in the Shanghai Higher Court)
• (2014) Yang Min San (Zhi) Chu Zi No. 422, the trademark infringement civil case Hangzhou West Lake District Longjing Tea Industry Association vs. Shanghai Yuqianchun Tea Co., Ltd. (among 2015 Top 10 IP Cases in the Shanghai Higher Court)
• (2015) Jing Zhi Min Zhong Zi No. 2119, the trademark infringement case UNIQLO Trading Co., Ltd. vs. Guangzhou Zhinanzhen Exhibition Services Co., Ltd., Guangzhou Zhongwei Enterprise Management Consulting Services Co., Ltd. and others (among 2015 Top 10 Innovative IP Cases in the Beijing Higher Court)