Ray (Lei) Zhao

Ray (Lei) Zhao is a Senior Partner and attorney at Unitalen Attorneys at Law, one of China's foremost intellectual property firms, based in Beijing. A trademark specialist recognised internationally as among the leading practitioners in his field, he has been named Trademark Attorney of the Year in China at the Corporate INTL Global Awards 2025, an award that caps a career devoted to the protection and enforcement of brands in China.

Zhao joined Unitalen in 2002 and has more than two decades of experience in intellectual property. Within the firm he has held senior leadership roles, including Director of the Legal Department and Director of the International Trademark Department, and has personally handled or supervised a large volume of trademark matters. His particular strength lies in resolving trademark disputes and infringement problems through both administrative and judicial channels, and he has successfully handled many difficult litigation and non-litigation cases on behalf of Chinese and international brand owners.

His experience spans the full range of trademark work, from prosecution and portfolio management to contentious enforcement, allowing him to advise clients strategically across the life of a brand. This combination of prosecution and litigation expertise is especially valuable to international companies, for whom protecting well-known marks in China requires both careful registration strategy and the readiness to enforce rights firmly when they are challenged or infringed. His long record of favourable outcomes in complex matters underpins the confidence that global brand owners place in him. Trademark practice in China spans the careful building of registered portfolios and the vigorous enforcement of rights against infringement and bad-faith filings, and it rewards attorneys who can operate across both administrative and judicial systems while staying attuned to the international standards and cross-border coordination that multinational brand owners expect of their advisers.

Zhao is also deeply engaged in the international intellectual property community. He is a member of numerous professional organisations, including MARQUES, AIPPI, INTA, ECTA and FICPI, as well as the All-China Lawyers Association, the China Intellectual Property Research Society and the China Trademark Association, and serves as co-chair of the China Global Advisory Council of INTA. His prominence has been reflected in sustained recognition by the leading intellectual property directories, including designation as a top-tier trademark individual in China over many consecutive years and inclusion among global leaders in the field.

Unitalen, the firm at which he practises, is a full-service intellectual property firm covering patents, trademarks, copyright, licensing, litigation and unfair competition, with multilingual capabilities serving clients across Asia and worldwide. Within that platform, Ray Zhao offers the combination of strategic trademark counsel, enforcement experience and international engagement that sophisticated brand owners require in China. His recognition as Trademark Attorney of the Year in China at the Corporate INTL Global Awards 2025 affirms his standing as one of the country's pre-eminent trademark practitioners.