Lawyer Li Yusheng in conversation with the Director of the Intellectual Property Office: How can enterprises effectively protect their patents, trademarks, and intellectual property rights?

A company's patents, trademarks, copyrights, and trade secrets are not just legal issues that need to be addressed when infringement occurs; rather, they should be considered as business assets encompassing product development, brand building, cooperation agreements, employee management, and multinational market expansion. Yu-Sheng Lee, principal attorney at Fidelity Law Firm, was invited to participate in the "Key Aspects of Intellectual Property Protection" forum, where he engaged in professional exchanges with Liao Cheng-Wei, then Director-General of the Intellectual Property Office of the Ministry of Economic Affairs, and industry representatives on corporate intellectual property protection and practical strategies.

Professional exchange at the "Key to Intellectual Property Protection" forum

This forum focuses on how enterprises can establish effective intellectual property protection mechanisms in the face of digital development and market competition. The discussions cover patents, trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets, and corporate intellectual property strategies, and explore common corporate risks from institutional, industrial, and legal practice perspectives.

The significance of this exchange lies in placing intellectual property rights within the overall context of business operations, moving beyond a single right application. Businesses need to determine which R&D achievements are suitable for patent applications, which information should be protected as trade secrets, how to register brands early, and how to arrange the ownership of rights in collaborations, licensing, and outsourcing relationships. The forum record is a factual presentation of professional exchanges and does not represent any government agency's recommendation or endorsement of any individual lawyer or firm.

Why has Attorney Li Yusheng focused on patents and intellectual property rights for so long?

Li Yusheng holds a Doctor of Laws degree from Newcastle University in the UK, with his doctoral research focusing on patent law and intellectual property rights. This research background influences his approach to handling corporate intellectual property issues: he goes beyond simply reading legal provisions or patent certificates, emphasizing the interconnectedness of technical content, scope of rights, product market, contractual relationships, evidence preservation, and dispute resolution.

In corporate law and litigation practice, intellectual property cases often involve corporate governance, business negotiations, licensing terms, competitive relationships, and cross-border transactions. Academic research must be combined with verifiable documents, technical data, and business objectives to develop truly enforceable protection plans.

Why can't companies wait until infringement occurs before addressing intellectual property rights?

After infringement occurs, companies often only then discover that the rights have not been registered, the creative process lacks documentation, the ownership of employees' or contractors' work is unclear, confidentiality measures are insufficient, or the licensing agreement does not specify the scope of use. These issues directly affect the feasibility of warning letters, platform removals, preliminary injunctions, damage claims, and criminal proceedings.

A more comprehensive approach involves simultaneously reviewing the acquisition of rights, contracts, confidentiality, and evidence during the research and development, naming, design, product launch, collaboration, and personnel changes stages. This not only helps in asserting rights after a dispute arises but also reduces the operational risks of delayed product launches, forced brand renaming, or leakage of important technologies.

Patents: From Technology Protection to Market Layout

A patent application is not complete once the certificate is obtained. Companies should first identify technologies with genuine commercial value, assess the trade-off between disclosure and confidentiality, and then consider the application region, the scope of rights, competitors' technologies, and product launch dates. Before product development or trading, it may also be necessary to conduct infringement risk and existing rights analysis.

When patent disputes arise, the core issues often include how the claims are interpreted, whether the accused product falls within the technical features, the validity of the patent, and the damage and market impact. Licensing, joint R&D, and cross-border supply chain contracts should also clearly address improvements, application rights, scope of use, and liability for disputes.

Trademarks: Brand building, similarity risks and counterfeiting handling

Trademarks embody a company's brand identity and market trust. Before naming or launching a new brand, it is advisable to search for similar marks and confirm the goods, services, and main markets to avoid discovering infringements only after marketing has begun. Companies should also plan their registrations according to their actual business scope, rather than simply acquiring categories unrelated to their operations.

When faced with similar use, counterfeit products, online advertising, or e-commerce platform infringement, it is essential to preserve product pages, transaction data, usage instructions, and evidence that may confuse consumers. Depending on the circumstances, warning letters, platform appeals, objection assessments, and civil or criminal proceedings should be assessed. For brand licensing, the region, duration, quality control, and post-termination procedures must be clearly stipulated.

Copyright: Ownership of Digital Content and Software

Software programs, websites, text, images, designs, videos, presentations, and marketing materials can all be subject to copyright. Practical disputes often involve more than just whether a work is protected; they also include who the author is, whether rights have been transferred, the scope of the authorization, and whether the material originated from an employee, outsourced vendor, or third-party platform.

Businesses should retain creation files, version records, commission and licensing agreements, and clearly define the rights to public display, modification, reproduction, and cross-platform use. If content is stolen, complete evidence of the source and timeline is usually more effective than simply stating "this was our first attempt."

Trade secrets: cannot rely solely on a confidentiality agreement.

Whether technology, formulas, code, customer lists, pricing information, supply terms, and internal business data can be protected as trade secrets is closely related to the actual confidentiality measures a company takes. Simply marking documents as confidential or signing confidentiality agreements is not necessarily sufficient to demonstrate that a company has reasonably managed its information.

Protective measures should incorporate information classification, access permissions, account and device management, download records, partner terms, and employee onboarding, appointment, and departure procedures. Upon discovering abnormal data leakage, system records, device and communication evidence should be preserved in accordance with the law to prevent compromising the integrity required for subsequent investigations.

How can companies establish a comprehensive intellectual property strategy?

A comprehensive intellectual property strategy requires the coordinated efforts of rights acquisition, contracts, internal management, infringement prevention, evidence preservation, dispute resolution, litigation, and cross-border markets. There is no fixed priority among these tools; they should be adjusted according to the company's product lifecycle, resources, competitive environment, and desired business outcomes.

FDLAW's Intellectual Property Services

Fidelity Law Firm combines patent law and intellectual property research with 20 years of corporate law and litigation practice to assist businesses, brand owners, and creators in handling patent, trademark, copyright, trade secret, licensing agreements, infringement evidence, and cross-border intellectual property issues. Case handling goes beyond simply explaining legal provisions; it also examines technology, transactions, contracts, corporate structures, and market risks.