Song (Max) Lin is a China associate with Foley & Lardner LLP, where his practice covers business laws and intellectual property (IP) laws relating to China. Mr. Lin has experience with a broad spectrum of corporate and intellectual property issues.
Prior to joining Foley, Mr. Lin was an intern at a leading Chinese law firm dedicated to IPO matters. During his internship, Mr. Lin took part in 3 IPOs. His work included conducting due diligence investigation on the companies to be listed. His due diligence investigation work included reviewing companies’ Business License, Organization Code Certificate, Foreign-Invested Enterprise Approval Certificate, and governmental Approval Certifications for projects which needed to be approved by government; analyzing the legal issues in the process of IPOs and coming up with legal solutions; and drafting due diligence reports.
Mr. Lin received his undergraduate degree in biotech engineering from Hebei University and his Master of Law degree from Peking University School of Law with first-class honors. He passed the Chinese Bar Examination in 2006 and the Chinese Patent Bar Examination in 2010. Mr. Lin does not hold a current certificate to practice law in China.
Corporate Experience:
- Provided regulatory research and legal opinion on the legal obstacle of project involving xenotransplantation using human stem cell growing on a pig and transferred IP result which will be generated in the project outside of China. The project was for a U.S.-based pharmaceutical company that planned to set up R&D Center in Nanjing.
- Provided regulatory research, including SFDA class 1 chemical drug registration, clinical trial application and class 1 chemical drug as well as its API importation, and researched the compound and its manufacturing process patent concerned, etc. This project was for a Japanese pharmaceutical company that planned to set up a JV with Zhejiang Pharmaceutical Group and involved a new chemical drug pending in FDA. The client wanted to cooperate with Zhejiang Pharmaceutical Group to bring this new chemical drug in China.
- Assisted a foreign valve-manufacturing company to set up a trading WFOE in Shanghai. Later, helped to switch the trading WFOE into a manufacturing entity. Mr. Lin prepared all bilingual application documents to be used in the WFOE formation and provided legal suggestions and legal solutions to client during WFOE formation.
- Assisted a foreign lab equipment manufacturing company to set up a trading WFOE in Shanghai.
- Assisted client in setting up a service WFOE in Tianjin.
- Assisted client in setting up a manufacturing WFOE in Tianjin. This WFOE is going to manufacture large industrial equipment and provide coating spray services to its Chinese customer. Mr. Lin prepared all bilingual application documents to be used in the WFOE formation and provided legal suggestions and legal solutions to client during WFOE formation.
- Provided legal council from China side to U.S. client and accompanied U.S. client to take part in acquisition meeting in Shanghai. This project was for A Shanghai-based light manufacturing company that wanted to buy a U.S. light manufacturing company.
- Advised foreign client regarding ICP license for foreign funded joint venture in China.
- Advised foreign client on cancellation and liquidation of WFOE.
- Advised foreign client regarding the process and criteria for repatriating profits by a WFOE to its parent corporation.
Intellectual Property Experience:
- Analyzed the examiner’s opinion in the Office Action or Reexamination Office Action and came up with the response strategy based on SIPO prosecution practice and report to U.S. partners. Reviewed and supervised the Chinese version of response to Office Action written by local agent in terms of our English instruction letter.
- Attended the patent invalidation oral hearing at Reexamination Board or patent administrative litigation procedure at Beijing 1st Intermediate People’s Court and supervised the local agent’s performance during the oral hearing and reported to our U.S. partners.
- Searched Chinese patents or patent applications involving human stem cell for California Institute for Regenerative Medicine. In this project, Mr. Lin searched and reviewed almost 200 Chinese patents or patent applications to determine which patents or patent applications involved human stem cell.
- Conducted freedom–to-operate search for foreign pharmaceutical companies entering their products into Chinese market.
- Introduced the overview of China patent litigation system and helped the client to develop defense strategy in advance assuming the brand name company would bring a suit in China. Project involved an international pharmaceutical company that had a WFOE in Suzhou and was in anticipation of a launch of a generic drug in China.
Publications (co-authored or authored)
- “Nanoparticle Drug Delivery Patents in China,” September 2012
- “How The Case Was Won: Lessons on Trademark Protection and Enforcement in China in light of the Cartier Cases,” February 2012
- “Generic Drug Approval Process In China” July 2011
- "China Bayh-Dole Act: A Framework Fundamental to Achieving the Economic Potential of China’s Patent Development Strategy (2011-2020),” April 2011
- “Securing Your Patent Rights in China,” October 2010
- “Seeking Approval For Export and Import of Restrictive Technologies in China,” July 2010
- “Evolving Convergence: Antitrust/Competition Law and Policy/Procedure in the United States, European Union and China,” December 2009
- “A Potential Trap for Unwary: Inventor/Creator Remuneration and Reward Under the Third Amendment,” September 2009
- “Confidentiality Review Requirement Under the Third Amendment to Chinese Patent Law,” September 2009