Words from the Director

The Institute for Intellectual Property in Asia is, among other things, a clearing house for information relating to intellectual property protection in Asia. It is founded by Elizabeth Chien-Hale, a U.S. licensed IP attorney based in San Jose, CA.  Chien-Hale has work experiences in and cultural knowledge of several Asian countries.

Purpose:

Starting with a journey from Silicon Valley to pioneer patent practice for Baker & McKenzie in Hong Kong prior to China’s entry into the WTO, prior to China’ IP became a hot topic, prior to China’ IP became a problem, Elizabeth returned to the Bay Area, frustrated, from Hong Kong with the realization that the gap between IP in the West and IP in Asia is large.  She founded this Institute aiming to help companies in Asia or North America to acquire cross-border intellectual property protection, and to resolve IP disputes. It also introduces technology trends and provides latest legislative updates in Asia and North American, mainly China and the United States. In the past, some have ignored cross-border IP protection or its usefulness. While this may have been true historically, the IP landscape has changed. The majority of Asian countries, despite the late start, have steadily made progress in boosting protection for inventive ideas made domestically and overseas. The Institute achieves its missions by, organizing seminars, leading cross-Pacific delegation exchanges for IP holders, and providing timely updates through the BLOG.

Upcoming Events

Upcoming conferences and seminars sponsored by this Institute or other organizations on the topic of intellectual property protection will be announced at this web site.