Law expert continues to write global books

For law professor Li Mingde, his new book - the revised edition of American Intellectual Property Law published this April - is another milestone in his academic career.

The US law book by the Chinese expert aims to provide a comprehensive picture of the entire IP legal framework in the top innovation powerhouse.

The director of the IP Research Center at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences said he expects the book to serve as a reference and, through comparison, enlighten readers about controversial issues in domestic legislation and jurisdiction.

The first edition was printed a decade ago. The new version extends its reach from patent, trade secrets, trademark, copyright and undue competition to industrial designs, semiconductor chip and software copyright, in double the text length with more cases for illustration.

The book is designed for intellectual property professors, college students and researchers and is also expected to help judges, procurators, lawyers, in-house counselors, administration staff and people interested in IP, according to its publisher.

The 2003 edition helped Li shoot to fame and won wide acclamation from IP practitioners in both academic and practical circles. However, Li was dissatisfied with the first version because he felt "it was sort of incomplete".

He soon started work on the revision, updating laws and regulations, as the US experienced an intensive round of IP legislation revision, and included his new research analysis in the book.

The doctoral tutor at CASS Graduate School spoke highly of case studies in both teaching and writing. "Law terms appear gray; only cases can give them a life," he said.

The new book has more than 600 cases.

"Court judgments are likened to an excellent thesis," he said. "We read them as if we have a dialog with judges, from which we can approach their understanding of legal issues, argumentation and reasoning process, and their thinking and wisdom."

The professor spent eight years creating American Intellectual Property Law and co-wrote another IP law book about the EU in two and a half years.

His next focus is Japan. He worked as visiting researcher at a Japanese IP law institute for five months during his stay in the country from 2006 to 2007. Then he mapped out a plan for the book concerning Japanese IP law, which is expected to be published in 2015 or 2016.

The renowned Chinese law expert also plans to outline a comprehensive IP legal framework for his motherland in another new book, which will also feature case analysis and interpretation of legal systems.

For construction and research on China's IP legal system, it is necessary to know about what happens in the US, the EU and Japan, he said.

"We often speak of standing on the shoulders of giants, but the first thing is to know where the giants shoulders are and how high they are," he noted.

"The systems established in advanced countries represent generations of wisdom. Through learning from them, we can avoid repetitive work and ensure that we are moving in the right direction.

"China's IP system now under construction is not in either the US or EU style. It needs to explore its own path by absorbing the international expertise in legislation and jurisdiction and meeting the needs of the country."

Zhang Jizhe contributed to the story.

zhuanti@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 07/23/2014 page17)