ServicesIntellectual Property; Dispute Resolution; Mergers & Acquisitions; Investment & Financing

SectorsTelecommunications; Computer Science; Semiconductors; Artificial Intelligence; Health Care

AdmissionsPRC
PRC Licensed Patent Attorney

EducationLanzhou University, LL.M.

Gavin Gao is a partner at Topcom. He focuses his practice on intellectual property, dispute resolution, general corporate and capital markets. Gavin specializes in handling litigation and non-litigation cases related to intellectual property rights, mainly covering the areas of patent rights, trademark rights, copyrights, trade secrets and unfair competition. Gavin has provided IP legal advisory services to multinational companies and leading domestic companies for a long time. His expertise covers internal IP compliance reviews, IP portfolio planning, patent freedom to operate ("FTO") analysis, IP system design, trade secret compliance audits and protection framework development, and technology licensing / transfer. He serves clients across industries such as high technology, health care, machinery, and electromechanical products. In addition to Chinese patents, Gavin has handled numerous PCT international patents, E.U. patents, U.S. patents and Japanese patents.

Gavin is also well-versed in corporate investment and M&A legal services, with extensive practical experience in equity financing, ESOPs, and general corporate legal services for technology companies. He has assisted many technology companies in completing financing projects totaling billions of RMB. Gavin has served as legal counsel for companies in semiconductors, health care, artificial intelligence, advanced manufacturing, education and training, and cultural creativity industries.

Gavin is actively involved in public welfare activities and has been appointed as an expert in the talent pool of Shanghai Technology Exchange, a public welfare intellectual property expert of Shanghai Jiao Tong University, a special expert of the rights protection group of Shanghai Intellectual Property Protection Center, and an expert of the overseas rights protection group of Shanghai Intellectual Property Protection Center.

Named "Next Generation Partners" and "Recommended Lawyers" in Shanghai by The Legal 500 Greater China 2026.

Expert in the talent pool of Shanghai Technology Exchange;

Public Welfare Intellectual Property Expert of Shanghai Jiao Tong University;

Special Expert of the Rights Protection Group of Shanghai Intellectual Property Protection Center;

Expert of the Overseas Rights Protection Group of Shanghai Intellectual Property Protection Center.

Dispute Resolution

Represented a well-known overseas pharmaceutical company in filing a patent infringement lawsuit and patent administrative ruling against a Chinese pharmaceutical company regarding generic drugs;

Represented a Shaoxing LED company in a patent infringement lawsuit and patent invalidation case against a Hangzhou LED company concerning an LED filament patent, successfully countering the patentee's claims and recovering nearly RMB50 million in losses for the client;

Represented a Wuhan science and technology company in successfully defending against a series of patent infringement lawsuits and patent invalidation cases initiated by a competitor;

Represented a Shanghai mechanical technology company in a patent infringement lawsuit and patent invalidation case against a competitor, successfully invalidating the competitor's core patents, saving the client from paying high compensation, and allowing the client to continue using its original technical solution;

Represented a leading European automotive parts company in a series of patent invalidation cases against a competitor, successfully invalidating all the competitor's core patents. The case went through the patent re-examination stage, as well as first trial, second trial, and re-examination stage of administrative litigation, with all claims being upheld;

Represented a domestic chip manufacturer in successfully addressing a series of patent invalidation disputes initiated by a competitor in the process of listing on the Science and Technology Innovation Board;

Represented a Jiaxing home furnishing company in a patent infringement lawsuit and patent invalidation case against a competitor in Suzhou regarding furniture design patents, developed a meticulous search strategy that led to the invalidation of the competitor's core patents, and recovered significant losses for the client;

Represented a Wuxi medical device company in a computer software infringement dispute with its distributor, clarifying the burden of proof allocation between rights holders and distributors (infringing parties) in such infringement cases;

Represented a Shanghai state-owned enterprise in a series of disputes with its employees over authorship rights and invention rewards, clarifying key judicial considerations and adjudication rules for such cases while providing the company with IP compliance guidance;

Represented the patentee in patent defense against children's electric vehicles in East China, and facilitated the major infringing manufacturers in East China to reach a settlement or sign patent license agreements with the patentee;

Represented a Shanghai pharmaceutical company in a dispute over a technical cooperation agreement between the client and its partner concerning a clinical trial of a pharmaceutical product, resolving contractual obligations concerning clinical trial permit renewal and recovering nearly RMB10 million in losses for the client;

Represented a Shanghai cultural and creative products company in a nationwide series of intellectual property rights defense against imitating brands, filed a full range of lawsuits / complaints against counterfeit products, involving patents, trademarks, copyrights, and unfair competition disputes, and effectively curbed counterfeiting behaviors across the country;

Represented parallel importers and distributors of "Zegna" products in a series of trademark infringement and unfair competition disputes against the trademark owner, establishing the compliance boundaries for trademark display in sales channels when dealing with parallel imported goods;

Represented the international brand owner of "Belli" in a series of trade name and unfair competition litigations against its Chinese partner (the actual holder of the Belli trademark in China), and clarified infringement determination standards for conflicts between trade names and trademark rights;

Represented a Shanghai catering company in an administrative dispute with Huazhu Group over the Chinese trademark "Manxinguan", and provided an IP compliance solution for the client's use of the trademark;

Represented a Shanghai manufacturing company in disputes with a U.S. licensee over copyright licensing and import / export contracts involving millions of dollars, and established best practices for resolving IP compliance issues in cross-border licensing and import / export trade disputes;

Represented the CTO of a technology company in an arbitration case concerning equity holding and equity withdrawal among the CTO, the founders and the company, and successfully facilitated the parties to reach a settlement that secured over RMB10 million of equity gains for the client during the arbitration process;

Represented an investment firm in a share transfer dispute and obtained approximately RMB50 million in equity transfer payments and interest for the client while successfully enforcing the guarantee liability of the defendant's legal representative.

Non-dispute Resolution

Represented several technology companies in completing patent FTO analysis and conducting comprehensive patent compliance risk screening before project initiation, during R&D process, and prior to the official release of products, involving automotive, aerospace, semiconductor, medical device and other industry areas;

Represented a pharmaceutical group in handling over a dozen projects involving patent licensing, technology introduction, R&D collaborations, MAH (Marketing Authorization Holder) license transfers, and drug manufacturing licenses, with transaction values reaching billions of RMB, while effectively managing compliance risks throughout drug development, clinical trials, MAH applications, and market approval processes;

Represented a "Thousand Talents Program" returning professor in a technology commercialization project, handled the prosecution of underlying patents application leading to successful grants, assisted in the transformation of scientific and technological achievements and realized tens of millions of RMB in personal income for the client;

Represented a pharmaceutical company in IP risk screening for generic drug manufacturing, and successfully addressed patent infringement allegations during the generic drug application process initiated by the patentee;

Represented a pharmaceutical fund to complete dozens of investments in the pharmaceutical field, including conducting due diligence, designing transaction structure, drafting transaction documents, participation in negotiations, and dealing with closing and post-investment matters;

Represented several technology startups in Pre-A, Series A, and Series B financing rounds, with cumulative funding exceeding hundreds of millions of RMB, including participating in transaction negotiations, reviewing transaction documents and dealing with closing matters;

Represented a cultural and creative company in facilitating a smooth investor exit and resolving potential VAM (Valuation Adjustment Mechanism) and buyback risks under the original investment agreement;

Represented a logistics company in a series of disputes over shareholder succession, ultimately mediating a comprehensive settlement that led to the company's orderly liquidation and dissolution;

Represented the Chinese shareholder of an automotive parts joint venture in Shanghai in a dispute initiated by its foreign shareholders over the control of the company and successfully assisted the client in gaining majority control of the joint venture;

Represented Shanghai Jiao Tong University to complete more than ten projects on the transformation of scientific and technological achievements by professors at the university, and provided special legal advice on the implementation, capital increase, withdrawal, and cancellation of the projects.