PRC IP firm Beijing East IP has merged with the Hong Kong-headquartered SIPS, and also welcomed aboard a team of 36 IP professionals from Zhong Lun Law Firm.

SIPS, founded in 2012 by Joe Simone, a former partner at Baker McKenzie, has five partners, and some 90 professionals and staff spread across its Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Hong Kong offices. It provides trademark application, investigation, and enforcement services to clients.

Meanwhile, the Zhong Lun team joining East IP in Beijing is led by partner Huang Jingwen (Jimmy Huang), and includes five other partners. The group specializes in services related to trademark applications and IP litigation. Huang previously worked at Chang Tsi & Partners and the Beijing office of the Australian law firm Allens, before joining Zhong Lun as a partner in 2012.

With the addition of these two teams, East IP now boasts over 150 members across Beijing, Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Guangzhou, providing trademark, enforcement, and litigation services.

East IP was founded in 2002 by Gao Lulin, who previously served in various government posts, including as director of the China Patent Office, director of the National Intellectual Property Administration, and senior advisor to the World Intellectual Property Organization.