Colorado companies have long looked to China as both a manufacturing hub and a critical market, but the legal relationship is changing.
Denver intellectual property attorneys say they are increasingly representing Chinese companies seeking to enforce patents, trademarks and trade secrets in the United States — a shift that reflects China’s emergence as a global innovator and that is reshaping how Colorado lawyers advise clients with international operations.
The change doesn’t mean Colorado companies are spending less time protecting their own intellectual property overseas. Instead, cross-border intellectual property work “is much more of a two-way street, where Chinese companies are looking for U.S. protection, just like U.S. companies have been looking for Chinese protection,” said Greg Tamkin, a partner in Dorsey & Whitney’s Denver office.
China’s Changing Role
For much of the past three decades, Tamkin said, his practice focused on helping U.S. companies protect patents, trademarks and trade secrets in China.
Today, many Chinese companies are developing sophisticated technologies, competing globally and investing heavily in intellectual property protection outside of China.
“They’re seeing the value of intellectual property,” Tamkin said. “They’re seeing how intellectual property has been used and are taking advantage of the same laws that can protect them.”
Lee Osman, also a partner with Dorsey & Whitney, said China’s legal system has evolved alongside its economy.
“As Chinese companies become more worldwide, they’re seeing the value of intellectual property as it’s handled in other countries and in Europe and the United States and are availing themselves of those opportunities to protect their markets,” he said.
China has also strengthened its own intellectual property system.
According to Tamkin and Osman, foreign companies now have stronger enforcement options than they did two decades ago, including greater opportunities to recover damages for infringement. China’s court system has also become more centralized, creating more consistency in intellectual property decisions.
What It Means for Colorado Companies
The changes are affecting businesses throughout Colorado’s innovation economy.
Tamkin said Colorado companies ranging from startups to established manufacturers rely on Chinese suppliers and may compete against Chinese companies.
“(These issues) reach clients of mine that have $5 million in revenue,” Osman said. “They get their prototypes made in China. They have their products manufactured in China. They’re sophisticated international businesspeople.”
For this reason, Tamkin and Osman added, businesses ought to protect their intellectual property before expanding internationally.
“We always start with getting your filings in place prior to any kind of disclosure,” Osman said. He also urged companies to establish strong supplier relationships, execute agreements addressing ownership and confidentiality and monitor overseas manufacturing relationships.
Tamkin said companies often underestimate how important those early steps become once they leave America. “When you’re going to expand overseas, it is so important to be sure you actually dot all those i’s and cross all those t’s in advance because you’re dealing with a different system where there’s a lot less forgiveness.”
Supply Chains Continue to Evolve
International trade policy has spurred another consideration.
Rather than changing intellectual property strategy itself, tariffs have expanded the legal teams advising companies doing business internationally.
In all of his decades of practice, “I haven’t worked with our export and import experts as much as I have in the last two years,” Tamkin said, noting that international IP matters now routinely involve lawyers focused on tariffs, customs and export controls.
At the same time, Osman said many companies are diversifying manufacturing into countries such as Vietnam, South Korea and Thailand, making it essential to consider intellectual property protection beyond China alone.
A Growing Part of Colorado Practice
Neither attorney expects geopolitical tensions to diminish the importance of China-related intellectual property work.
Rather, Tamkin and Osman Lee agreed that international intellectual property work will likely become less of a specialized niche and more of a routine part of advising innovative companies. As companies on both sides of the Pacific seek to protect and enforce their intellectual property, attorneys must never assume the legal relationship between the United States and China is moving in one direction.