Hairuo Zhang


Of Counsel
China Practice

PDF Resume
Email: zhanghairuo@yuanhepartners.com

Ms. Zhang has 15 years solid experience in resolving intellectual property disputes, primarily focus on trademark, unfair competition, copyrights, design patents, domain names, and other IP conflicts. She has successfully represented over 300 complex, cross-border IP civil and administrative litigation cases, achieving significant legal victories for both domestic and international high-profile companies. Three of her cases on unfair competition and trademark disputes were selected as annual representative cases by the Supreme People’s Court, and another three were chosen as annual IP cases by the Beijing High Court. She has secured favorable judgments for her clients in significant cases adjudicated by the Supreme People’s Court, Beijing High Court, Guangdong High Court, Beijing IP Court, Shanghai IP Court, and Shenzhen Intermediate People’s Court.

Ms. Zhang has been consistently recognized by World Trademark Review as a leading lawyer in litigation and rights protection. She was named among the “Top 100 IP Experts in China” by Asian IP. Her litigation team has been listed on the Benchmark Litigation’s dispute resolution roster and the “Intellectual Property” list by China Business Law Journal. Ms. Zhang is also adept in intellectual property protection strategies, negotiation, and commercial licensing, serving as long-term legal counsel for multiple companies. She provides clients with advice and services from both a transactional and dispute resolution perspective.

Work Experience
Ms. Zhang is the managing partner of Yuanhe & Twelve Tables and an of counsel of Jun Wang & Associates. She has worked for 9 years at King & Wood Mallesons and Baker McKenzie LLP (a United States firm), was a partner at LexField Law Offices, and co-founded Twelve Tables Law Firm. Ms. Zhang graduated from Shandong University with a Bachelor of Laws degree and was sent abroad on a government scholarship to Uppsala University in Sweden, where she earned a Master of Laws degree in International Law. She is a member of the Trademark Committee of the AIPPI China Chapter, the Competition and Antitrust Law Committee of the Beijing Lawyers Association, included in the “Foreign-related Lawyers Talent Bank” by the Beijing Lawyers Association, and a member of the International Exchange and Cooperation Committee of the Chaoyang District Lawyers Association in Beijing. Additionally, Ms. Zhang serves as a part-time adjunct professor at China University of Political Science and Law, teaching intellectual property law courses.

Representative IP cases she won include

• Represented Google in Google v. CNIPA in two retrial cases before Supreme Court, obtained favorable retrial decisions which for the first time allowed identical marks to be registered on similar goods due to consent letter. This case is named as one of the Representative IP Cases of the Year by Supreme Court and named as Top 10 IP Case by China Bar Association.
• Represented Sweden Volvo Truck Company against several local companies in 16 separate design patent infringement lawsuits relating to truck parts’ design patents before Shanghai IP Court and Nanjing Intermediate Court. Already won 11 cases.
• Represented BOSCH Corporation in a computer software copyright Infringement case before Shenzhen Intermediate People’s Court against local company and won.
• Represented a HK company in multiple copyright disputes involving famous overseas titles including A Game of thrones (aka. A song of Ice & Fire), Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown and successfully settled.
• Represented Laboratories Servier (France) in a trade dress infringement case against a drug factory regarding using packaging similar to Servier’s drug packaging for Diamicron medicine in an unfair competition lawsuit before Beijing District Court and won. This is among a few court decisions which has rendered trade dress protection over drug’s packaging.
• Represented an IT company in filing an antitrust lawsuit against an American software company for misusing dominant market position during license discussions, Beijing IP Court. Successfully settled.
• Represented Google in four trademark administrative re-trial court actions before China Supreme Court and all won by successfully invaliding a local company’s 4 “Gmail” registrations, bringing to a successful end for Google to long drawn legal battlefields between these two companies competing for “Gmail” trademarks in China.
• Represented U.S. SeaWorld theme park in two trademark non-use cancellation actions against Australia SeaWorld park and TRAB before Beijing IP Court and won by securing U.S. SeaWorld’s house brands which are pivotal for SeaWorld to compete with Australia SeaWorld park in bringing their theme park into China.
• Represented France Leroy-Somer Société Anonyme vs. local company in a trademark infringement and unfair competition lawsuit before Supreme Court and Fujian Higher Court. This case is named as top 10 Innovative IP Cases by Supreme People’s Court.
• Represented U.S. Deere Company in a trademark infringement and unfair competition lawsuit regarding its green and yellow color combination mark on tractors before Beijing Higher Court. This is the first civil action which has successfully overcome the lack of distinctiveness challenge and provided protection over colour combination trademark in China. It was named as the top 50 Innovative IP Cases by Supreme Court (court decision attached).
• Represented P&G, Bose and NSK in trademark administrative suits before Beijing Higher Court and Beijing IP Court and won by obtaining the first court decisions recognizing these brands as well-known trademarks in China.

Client feedbacks

“[C]ourtroom sharpshooter Hairuo Zhang made a splash when she secured a victory for Google before the Supreme People’s Court in a TRAB retrial”.
— World Trademark Review 2019

“Hairuo is practical, strategic, very responsive and hardworking; I trust her with our largest and most important client matters, and I have never been let down or disappointed in any way.”
— World Trademark Review 2020

“Efficient, cost-conscious and above all strategic, Hairuo Zhang is a trademark enforcement guru who leaves no stone unturned when it comes to dispute resolution and remains composed when battling in the Supreme Court. She is a premier choice for global giants.”
— World Trademark Review 2021