Getting no shortage of praise for its expertise in prosecuting patent and trade mark applications, Liu Shen & Associates sits comfortably on the top tier for another year. The firm is also a first rank practice for contentious matters. "Liu Shen is a very good firm. Its advice is quite solid," says a peer. As one of the earliest firms to obtain approval to represent overseas parties in IP matters, Liu Shen & Associates has an enviable roster of international clients with names like Sony, Siemens, Samsung, Procter & Gamble and Carl Zeiss.
Apart from representing foreign clients within China, the firm has been actively helping Chinese companies in their IP matters overseas. A prime example of this saw the Liu Shen team act for General Protecht Group (GPG), a Zhejiang-based electrical devices manufacturer, in defending an ITC 337 investigation and a patent infringement suit filed by US competitor Leviton. As Leviton initiated an ITC 337 investigation against GPG a few years ago in which GPG won and the two reached a settlement, the Chinese company responded by suing Leviton for violating the settlement agreements signed by the two parties in 2007. The Federal Court of New Mexico ruled that Leviton should withdraw its charges against GPG in November 2010. This case demonstrated the firm's grasp of US law and its ability to work with overseas counterparts. It further shows that Chinese enterprises have become more active when responding to ITC 337 investigations.