On October 28^th, 2015 W&B Partner Cathy Wu delivered a lecture entitled Risk Management and Significant Clauses in Technology Contracts in the No.3 Conference Room on the third floor of the Shanghai International  Trade Center. A total of 39 mid-level employees of Japanese enterprises attended the lecture. This lecture is the third of the series IP Lectures for Chinese Employees of Japanese Enterprises offered jointly by W&B and JETRO.

Ms. Wu started the lecture by summarizing technology contracts and providing examples of the important role played by science and technology in daily travel, health care and communications. She cited accurate data indicating that the total price of technology contracts on China’s technology exchange markets has increased at the rate of 15% per year. She also provided recent statistics published by the Ministry of Science and Technology showing that there are currently more than 20,000 technology trading service agencies, 200 technology exchange markets and 32 innovation relay centers in China. Later in the lecture, she briefly introduced the four major types of technology contracts along with their main clauses -- technology development contracts, technology transfer contracts, technical consultation contracts and technical service contracts. She outlined the legal risks associated with these types of contracts and described corresponding countermeasures.

During the case briefing session, Ms. Wu used a Q&A period to stimulate the audience’s thinking about the actual cases. The use of actual cases was designed to enable the audience to better understand key legal issues such as differences between/among the four major types of technology contracts, ownership and sharing of technical achievements, contractual risk and liability, and other matters.

Finally, Ms. Wu touched on issues such as the exclusion of restrictive terms on technology import and export, the ownership of technical improvements, the invalidation of technology contracts and anti-monopoly concerns. The two-hour lecture greatly benefited the attendees. It was so well-received that many enterprise representatives stayed and talked with Ms. Wu and exchanged business cards in the hope of future opportunities for cooperation.

In November W&B will hold another special lecture entitled Enforcement Strategies against Internet Counterfeiting. Stay tuned for details -- we will sincerely welcome your attendance.