Wanhuida Intellectual Property

Patent Practice

Partner & a Member of the firm’s Management Committee

S. Sam Li practices in the areas of intellectual property law with a focus on litigating patent, trade secret, and other technology-related matters.

Sam has served as strategic counsel for both multinational and domestic Chinese corporations in patent infringement litigations, patent invalidation proceedings and their subsequent administrative litigations, criminal and civil trade secret cases, and disputes over technology agreements, before courts, arbitral tribunals and the Patent Reexamination Board (the PRB). He also advises clients on matters concerning IPR and competition and does opinion work on freedom-to-operate, infringement, validity and patentability. Frequently, Sam’s team works with clients for their complex disputes in multiple jurisdictions.

Sam’s recent work includes:

Representing multinational companies in patent litigation in a number of Chinese courts, including Beijing, Jiangsu, Shaanxi, Shandong, and Shanghai, successfully stopping defendants’ infringement activities, obtaining damages and procuring injunctions and pre-suit injunctions; Defending or challenging patent validity in the fields of chemistry, biotech, pharmaceutical and electronic industries and representing clients in subsequent administrative litigations; Advising and representing clients in several major trade secret matters involving both criminal enforcement and civil litigations; and conducting investigation over a number of incidences involving breaches of confidentiality and trade secret thefts; Representing a major Chinese chemical company in arbitration of a technology contract dispute, and advise clients on enforcing arbitral awards; Advising clients in chemical, pharmaceutical, biotechnology and energy industries on dozens of freedom-to-operate (FTO), non-infringement, and patent validity opinions for launching new products/processes, preparing for initiating or defending infringement actions, and assessing merits for taking invalidation actions or litigating decisions of the PRB.

Sam has substantial experience practicing law in the United States.  After law school, Sam clerked for the Maryland Court of Appeals, where he had opportunity to work on a wide range of legal issues.  Sam practiced law at a premier Washington-based international law firm, where he had opportunity to work on various litigations including patent litigation in multiple jurisdictions.  Sam also served as Chief IP and Legal Counsel for the Asia-Pacific Region for a major American chemical company.

Since 2019, Sam has been listed as a recommended individual in the patent contentious front by IAM. Sam has been rated as a Foreign Legal Consultant in the intellectual property field by Chambers & Partners since 2018. Sam is selected as a recommended lawyer in The Legal 500 Asia Pacific 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 & 2024 editorial.

English, Chinese

Bar of District of Columbia, USA US Patent and Trademark Attorney

B.S., Pharmaceutical Manufacturing, Sichuan Medical College Ph.D., Chemistry/biochemistry, University of California, San Diego J.D., The George Washington University Law School