Against the backdrop of a profound reshaping of global trade rules and increasingly intense contestation over foreign-related intellectual property, Guangdong Qianhai Law Firm has responded actively to Shenzhen’s call to build a high-level foreign-related legal services industry. Under the strategic guidance of the Shenzhen Justice Bureau and the Overseas Rights Enforcement Department of the Shenzhen Intellectual Property Protection Centre, and drawing on the locational advantages of the Qianhai Shenzhen–Hong Kong International Legal Services Zone, the firm has deeply embedded itself in Shenzhen’s “1+N+X” comprehensive enterprise overseas service system. The team led by Eunice Yan, as a core provider of the “X” specialised foreign-related legal services component, recently assisted a national-level specialised and innovative “little giant” enterprise in Bao’an in completing major patent licensing negotiations with a leading overseas company, achieving the preset objectives in the first round of consultations and providing a high-quality legal model for Shenzhen’s efforts to optimise its international business environment and support enterprises going global.

I. Anchoring to the national strategy and building a new paradigm for foreign-related rule of law collaboration

This case is more than a win in a single matter; it is a vivid example of the firm implementing Shenzhen’s policy commitment to “improving the 1+N+X enterprise outbound service system”. Faced with overseas IP compliance — a common pain point for enterprises going global — the firm moved beyond the traditional model of lawyers working alone and actively joined a multi-tiered service matrix that coordinates Shenzhen Go-Global e-Station, links municipal and district departments, leverages industry associations and draws on the professional support of law firms.

Under the guidance of the Bao’an District Commerce Bureau, the firm worked closely with the Bao’an District Enterprise Outbound Service Centre (Foreign Investment Service Centre), converting the government’s policy advantages, the platform’s resources and the firm’s expertise into competitive advantages for enterprises going global. This model breaks down information barriers in foreign-related legal services and shifts from “remedy after the event” to full-cycle compliance governance of “prevention in advance and control in the process”, demonstrating Shenzhen’s innovative approach as a pilot demonstration city for building the rule of law under socialism with Chinese characteristics.

II. Overcoming cross-jurisdictional challenges and demonstrating hard professional capability

The case involved core patents in the LED lighting field and required addressing conflicts among the IP rules of multiple jurisdictions, including China, the United States, Europe and Japan at the same time. In response to the stringent royalty rates and substantial retroactive terms proposed by the overseas company, Eunice Yan’s team drew on the firm’s international talent advantages, worked with local patent lawyers in the United States, Europe and Japan to form a “transnational cloud task force”, and adopted a three-pronged strategy combining technology, law and commercial considerations:

— Global assessment: validity checks and infringement comparisons were conducted across multiple jurisdictions to identify flaws and gaps in the counterparty’s patent pool precisely and to establish negotiating leverage.

— Integration of technology and law: a three-dimensional analysis model of “patent verification + technical deconstruction + cost calculation” was developed to translate opaque technical parameters into a visualisable chain of legal evidence and to set a scientifically grounded royalty range.

— High-level negotiation: in the first round of in-person negotiations, the team relied on detailed data and rigorous legal reasoning to reject unreasonable retroactive compensation terms and to bring the royalty rate within the client’s target range, directly averting potentially substantial economic losses.

III. Distilling the “Qianhai experience” to empower global industry positioning

The success of these negotiations marks a new stage in the firm’s cross-border IP dispute resolution practice. As a mainstay of Shenzhen’s foreign-related legal services, the firm not only resolved the client’s immediate problem but, through Shenzhen Go-Global e-Station and industry association platforms, converted individual case experience into a public good for the industry.

The government–law firm–enterprise collaboration mechanism in which the firm is deeply involved has been promoted citywide as a model. It demonstrates that, amid complex international trade frictions, Chinese enterprises are fully capable of securing a voice in international rule-making by drawing on the professional services of high-level domestic law firms. Going forward, Guangdong Qianhai Law Firm will continue to uphold the philosophy of “legal protection, resource bridging”, continue to refine standardised service products such as cross-border patent dispute negotiation and overseas compliance system development, take a deep part in competition in the international legal services industry, and build a solid rule of law foundation for the globalisation of “Made in Shenzhen” and “Made in China”.

▲ The enterprise presented a silk banner to Guangdong Qianhai Law Firm