Elliot Papageorgiou Head of IP Strategy in China


Parle :  Anglais, Allemand, Hungarian, Serbe, Croate, Mandarin (Basic)


Bureau principal :  Shanghai

Bureau secondaire :  Beijing




Elliot Papageorgiou

Elliot Papageorgiou is Gowling WLG's Head of IP Strategy in China. With over 25 years of experience, Elliot has practised intellectual property (IP) law across several continents, including Oceania, Europe and Asia.

Based in Gowling WLG's Shanghai office, Elliot counsels international clients on contentious and non-contentious IP matters, with a special focus on IP value-growth and value-extraction, strategic portfolio development, and cross-border IP enforcement and infringement litigation in China and across the APAC region. Elliot supports a number of embassies in China with current IP developments and issues and is regularly consulted by the European Delegation and European Intellectual Property Office in China. He is the former National Chair of the European Chamber in China (EUCCC)'s Intellectual Property Rights Working Group (IPR WG) and has held various positions within the IPR WG since 2006.

Elliot has represented a number of Fortune 500 companies and other multinationals in patent litigation. Other recent client briefs include developing IP strategies for a number of Europe's leading venture capitalist funds; strategically advising a global leader in cutting-edge semiconductor fabrication, a global leader in quantum computing technology, global engineering and manufacturing conglomerates, as well as some of Europe's best-known engineering firms.

As part of his disputes and litigation practice, Elliot has guided a range of complex patent litigation, as well as trademark and copyright litigation cases, by way of petition for re-hearing (certiorari) before China's Supreme People's Court (SPC) on a number of occasions. One notable such case was ranked number one in the SPC's "Top 50 IP Cases of the Year."

Throughout his legal career, Elliot has consistently been recognized as a leading practitioner in his field by IAM Patent 1000, IAM Strategy 300, World Trademark Review 1000, Managing Intellectual Property, Chambers and Partners, Legal 500, Who's Who Legal, and WIPR, just to name a few.

In addition to his practice, Elliot regularly teaches IP courses at various universities and has given seminars for various industry and professional organisations in China and internationally.

Associations professionnelles

  • National Chair, Intellectual Property (IPR) Working Group, European Union Chamber of Commerce in China
  • LES Scandinavia
  • INTA
  • MARQUES

Mandats représentatifs

Elliot has managed a range of complex patent litigations, trademark and copyright litigations and successfully petitioned and litigated before the Supreme People's Court (SPC) on numerous occasions. His recent briefs include:

  • Structuring China IP licensing and technology transfer for global leader in specialist chemicals
  • Winning 'patent claw-back' litigation for one of Europe's largest engineering groups, recovering a number of patent-families from potential competitors and protecting the client's trade secrets in the process
  • Winning patent defence litigation before the Supreme People's Court for Europe's largest engineering conglomerate
  • Advising one of Europe' largest venture capital funds on strategic China IP acquisitions and disposals for its invested companies
  • Winning numerous patent infringement lawsuits for industrial engineering groups
  • Winning patent, utility model and design, as well as trademark infringement lawsuits for global filtration companies
  • Developing a Chinese freedom-to-operate and technology strategy for one of Europe's largest automotive parts suppliers, including IP mapping, competitor-threat analyses and implementing strategic measures to generate competitive advantage for the client
  • Advising probably Europe's leading quantum computing company on their global IP strategy including selection of their European counsel, filing and FTO strategies, as well as IP and ALL business-strategies for China
  • Advising Europe's leading specialist OLED pigment producers on their Chinese partnering and bolstering their China IP portfolio for potential sale of the technology and/or the business
  • Structuring IP licensing and exploitation models for high-tech chemical companies
  • Defending China patent portfolios for leading health care companies