This month, Wilson Gunn Partner James Robey visited Wuhan, China with UK Trade & Investment, the UK Government’s body that promotes exporting.

Along with a number of other Northwest businesses, James attended a range of events tied to the opening of a new British Consulate General in the city.

Wuhan is the capital of the Hubei province and is the most populous city in Central China.  Wuhan is also Manchester’s Chinese sister city; and therefore this visit was the ideal opportunity for Wilson Gunn to develop and strengthen relationships with patent attorneys and companies based in and around Wuhan.  The visit to Wuhan was followed by a venture to Beijing, where James had the opportunity to meet with patent attorneys in China’s capital.  

Wilson Gunn will also be working with the China British Business Council to inform Chinese companies of the value of filing patents in Europe.

There has been a huge rise in China patent filings in recent years. The 2014 edition of World Intellectual Property Indicators states that China’s State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) led worldwide patent application filings by a large margin, with 825,136 filed in 2013—up 26.4% from 2012.