Jason Yao

Partner

Jason Yao is a partner at Wanhuida Intellectual Property and a member of the firm’s
management committee. He is also the managing partner of the firm’s Shenzhen
office and Hong Kong office. His practice covers a wide range of IP matters, including
litigation relating to trademarks, patents, copyright and trade secrets; investigation and
enforcement against trademark counterfeiting, patent infringement and piracy through
administrative and criminal actions; licensing, transferring and acquiring trademarks,
patents and copyrighted works; and compliance and government investigations in unfair
competition and antitrust matters.
Mr Yao uses a unique combination of in-house and outside counsel experience in
managing IP portfolios and corporate legal matters for both multinational and Chinese
companies. He led the brand protection team of P&G in China and handled more than
1,000 cases in seven years, some of which were the very first IP cases of the region.
After finishing his higher education in IP law at Boston University School of Law, Mr Yao
joined Gillette as the general counsel for the Greater China region, where he handled
a complex investigation and enforcement action against a counterfeiting syndicate.
After Gillette’s acquisition by P&G, he joined Acushnet, where he served as the leading
counsel for both IP and general legal matters in the Asia-Pacific region. He successfully
coordinated major US golf manufacturers and put together a comprehensive programme
for cooperatively and collectively fighting against counterfeit and pirated products in the
region, achieving significant results.
As the legal committee chair and vice chair of the Quality Brands Protection
Committee of the China Association of Enterprises with Foreign Investment, Mr Yao has
worked with legislative authorities, judicial departments and government enforcement
agencies to improve the legislation and enforcement of IP rights in China.
Mr Yao is among the Legal 500 Recommended IP Lawyers for 2020 and 2021. He
is ranked by World Trademark Review as a recommended individual in the category of
enforcement and litigation in 2020, 2021 and 2022. He is also listed as one of the 2020
ALB China Top 15 IP Lawyers.
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