Edward Lehman Recognized as a Top Trademark Lawyer in China

Edward Lehman was recently chosen as the Who’s Who Legal 2006 Trademark attorney for China. This makes him one of two lawyers respected by Who’s Who Legal in China, and the only foreign lawyer so honored.

Who’s Who Legal publishes a yearly guide to the trustworthy international lawyers of the world. They have sections for most nations and, so far, Edward Lehman has been recommended for both the trademarks and franchise sections of WWL guide. These nominations serve to solidify Lehman, Lee & Xu’s reputation as a leading Chinese intellectual property firm. Edward Lehman has been practicing in China since 1987 and one of his areas of specialty has always been intellectual property.

The selection process used by Who’s Who Legal is largely a peer-controlled process. Lawyers around the world select those lawyers they think are reputable and then Who’s Who Legal does a crosscheck on them.

China’s intellectual property industry is growing at an incredible rate, but it is still meeting challenges from black-market producers. In 1980, there were only 20,000 applications for trademarks. In 2004, there were 588,000, 20% more than 2003. China’s entrance into the WTO has spurred China to work harder to protect intellectual property in its courts. As a result, many more Chinese and foreign investors trust the Chinese system and register their trademarks. Nevertheless, the black market for brand name products is still prevalent. It will probably take a lot of education, along with legislation, to bring pirating down to a manageable level.