ALEXANDRA YANG
Partner·
ALEXANDRA YANG
Partner·
-
ALEXANDRA YANG
Partner·
Beijing
PROFILE REPRESENTATIVE MATTERS AND CASES OTHER INFORMATION Further Reading
MS. YANG IS A PREEMINENT IP TRIAL LAWYER FOCUSING HER PRACTICE ON HIGH-PROFILE IP AND ANTITRUST LITIGATION. MS. YANG DEALS WITH GLOBAL IP ISSUES IN ADVISING AND WORKING WITH MULTINATIONAL AND HIGH-TECH COMPANIES IN INDUSTRIES SUCH AS TELECOMMUNICATIONS, ELECTRONICS, PHARMACEUTICALS AND IT.
The most recent awards of Ms. Yang include Band 1, Intellectual Property Litigation, Chambers and Partners (2026), Band 1 Patent Litigator, IAM Patent 1000 (2026), Band 1 trademark Litigator, WTR (2026), Patent Star, Managing IP (2026), litigation Star, Benchmark (2026), and others.
IAM has recognized Ms. Yang as one of “China’s most formidable patent litigation lawyers.” Ms. Yang has been named “China’s Best Patent Litigation Lawyer of the Year” (the only one selected in China) by Intellectual Asset Management and was recognized by BENCHMARK as the “Asia-Pacific Intellectual Property Lawyer of the Year for 2023” (the only one selected in the Asia-Pacific region). WTR has also recognized Ms. Yang as “the crème de la crème of Chinese IP litigators” who “is heavily involved in multiple high‐profile disputes,” and “the teams she develops always create and execute winning legal strategies that yield outstanding results.” Since 2019 to 2026, Ms. Yang has been the only IP lawyer in China to be simultaneously ranked in the top tier for both patents and trademarks by IAM Patent 1000 and World Trademark Review. Under Ms. Yang’s leadership, the IP litigation team at Fangda Partners has been recognized for 12 consecutive years (2014–2026) by Chambers & Partners as a Top-Tier IP Litigation Firm in China.
Education
Peking University, School of Law, LL.M.
Yanshan University, School of Materials Science and Chemical Engineering, B.E.
Professional Qualification
Admitted to practice in the PRC
Admitted to practice before the State Intellectual Property Office
PROFILE
Alexandra Yang is one of China’s premier IP litigators. As a recognized consulting expert to the Chinese Supreme Court’s IP Research Center, she has extensive experience in every area of IP law, including patent, copyright, trademark, and trade secrets. Ms. Yang represents many Fortune 500 companies and leading technology companies in their most important matters, such as Apple v. Qualcomm, Apple v. Ericsson, Apple v. iRobot, Meta v. Wireless wonder, Nvidia v. Zhou, Microsoft v. Newman, Microsoft v. Able, Intel v. VSLI, TSMC v. 8DLab, TSMC v. Princo, Cisco v. Dunjun, Applied Materials v. Etown, Eli Lilly v. Watson, and many other high-stake cases.
Ms. Yang also has extensive experience in SEP/FRAND litigation and has represented clients in a series of high-profile SEP disputes, including Apple v. Optis, Apple v. IWNCOMM, Apple v. Qualcomm, Vivo v. Nokia, Oppo v. Sharp and Meizu v. Qualcomm.
Many of Ms. Yang’s cases have been groundbreaking in furthering the development of the intellectual property and competition laws in China. She has argued more than 50 cases before the Supreme Court, with five cases being recognized as “top cases” by the Supreme Court. And the Eli Lilly v. Watson case was the only invention patent case recognized as a “Guidance Case” by the Supreme Court from 2010 to 2020. Recently, Ms. Yang represented TSMC in two cases involving its “multi-layer substrate” and “semiconductor packaging” invention patents, both of which were selected for inclusion in the 2024 Supreme People’s Court Intellectual Property Tribunal Judgments Digest.
Ms. Yang has been consistently ranked as a leading lawyer in Chambers, IAM Patent 1000, Managing IP, and Benchmark litigation for her IP practice in China.
The most recent awards of Ms. Yang include Band 1, Intellectual Property Litigation, Chambers and Partners (2026), Band 1 Patent Litigator, IAM Patent 1000 (2026), Band 1 trademark Litigator, WTR (2026), Patent Star, Managing IP (2026), litigation Star, Benchmark (2026), and others.
Particularly in the field of patents, IAM has recognized Ms. Yang as one of “China’s most formidable patent litigation lawyers.” Ms. Yang has been named “China’s Best Patent Litigation Lawyer of the Year” (the only one selected in China) by Intellectual Asset Management and was recognized by BENCHMARK as the “Asia-Pacific Intellectual Property Lawyer of the Year for 2023” (the only one selected in the Asia-Pacific region). WTR has also recognized Ms. Yang as “the crème de la crème of Chinese IP litigators” who “is heavily involved in multiple high‐profile disputes,” and “the teams she develops always create and execute winning legal strategies that yield outstanding results.”
Since 2019 to 2026, Ms. Yang has been the only IP lawyer in China to be simultaneously ranked in the top tier for both patents and trademarks by IAM Patent 1000 and World Trademark Review.
Under Ms. Yang’s leadership, the IP litigation team at Fangda Partners has been recognized for 12 consecutive years (2014–2026) by Chambers & Partners as a Top-Tier IP Litigation Firm in China.
REPRESENTATIVE MATTERS AND CASES
- Represents Apple in China in a SEP licensing related dispute against Optis, assisting the client in developing innovative litigation strategies and securing favorable outcome.
- Represents Apple in Apple v. Qualcomm for disputes against Qualcomm’s standard essential patent (“SEP”) licensing scheme. The civil actions covered a wide range of causes of action, including anti-monopoly action, determination of FRAND terms, and declaratory judgment of non-infringement and in addition defended more than thirty patent infringement cases before more than ten major IP Courts and High Courts and the Supreme People’s Court (“SPC”) in China. The damages claimed by the parties exceed RMB 1.6 billion. Apple challenged the legitimacy of Qualcomm’s business model to defend its rights and protect the downstream market from Qualcomm’s certain abusive activities. This challenge is also a protest to Qualcomm’s licensing scheme since the 2014 NDRC antitrust investigation against Qualcomm. THIS IS THE TRIAL OF THE CENTURY.
- Represents Apple in the FRAND/SEP action and anti-monopoly action with the Beijing IP Court against Xidian (IWNCOMM), which is the second case in China, following Huawei v. InterDigital case, brought by the standard implementers against the standard essential patent (SEP) holder, alleging anti-monopoly violation and demanding FRAND royalties.
- Represents Meizu defending the AML and FRAND lawsuit initiated by Qualcomm, in which Qualcomm claimed USD 65 million damages and requested the court to determine a FRAND rate for its wireless telecommunications SEPs. The civil actions include the first declaratory judgment for non-infringement action in AML in China. Creative strategies were designed and implemented which lead to a favorable settlement for the client.
- Represents Oppo against Sharp in global FRAND rate-setting litigation. This case was one of the earliest in China to address the adjudication and jurisdiction of global licensing rates for 5G standard-essential patents, involving disputes across multiple jurisdictions.
- Represented Vivo against Nokia in FRAND rate-setting litigation, which was ultimately resolved through a settlement between the parties.
- Represented Apple in a large number of patent infringement and invalidation lawsuits related to wireless communication technology, mobile device construction and manufacturing technology in mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. Represented Apple in handling over one hundred copyright infringement, trademark infringement, and unfair competition disputes related to Apple App Store in the past ten years. The courts involved in these cases include the SPC, the Beijing High Court, the Shanghai High Court, the IP Courts in Beijing and Shanghai, and the Taiwan Intellectual Property Court. Many of these cases were selected as the annual “Top 10 IP Cases” by the National Intellectual Property Administration and the Beijing High Court.
- Represents Apple in iRobot v. Apple patent infringement case. The dispute has been going on for nearly a decade. The allegations are made against Apple SIRI system, a substantially valued artificial intelligent assistant carried by multiple Apple product lines. The first around invalidation decision against iRobot patent was selected as the “Yearly Case” by the CNIPA and the infringement case was dismissed. The second round actions started with Zhizhen requesting the highest damage claim in history in China, i.e. 10 billion RMB, before the Shanghai High Court. As for today, multiple actions are running in parallel before several courts in important jurisdictions, such as Fuzhou, Suzhou and Shanghai.
- Represents Facebook (Meta) in patent infringement action filed by Wireless Wonders. The patent at issue relates to VoIP communication technology. Wireless Wonders claimed that Facebook’s core App WhatsApp’s act of manufacturing, selling, and offering to sell certain application programs allegedly using the technology at issue had infringed on Wireless Wonders’ patent, seeking for injunction against Facebook’s star app Whatsapp plus RMB 10 million. This case is Facebook’s first patent infringement lawsuit in mainland, China. The outcome of this case will likely help shape the strategy of future patent litigation involving Facebook. We successfully invalidated the asserted patent entirely.
- Represents a Microsoft affiliate in a patent infringement lawsuit filed by a U.S. non-practicing entity (NPE) in the Shanghai Intellectual Property Court. The court recently ruled in her client’s favor, recognizing non-infringement and upholding the prior art defense—a groundbreaking case in patent litigation, as it is rare for a court to accept a prior art defense based on the use of second-hand devices.
- Represents Microsoft defending multiple patent infringement actions filed by Neodron. This is the first time in recent years that Microsoft has faced large-scale patent litigation filed by an NPE in China. Neodron has also filed patent infringement lawsuits in multiple courts and administrative agencies in the U.S. and Germany as a coercive means to obtain steep license fees. Novel litigation strategies and global unified strategy coordination are employed in this case in order to maximize the interest of the client.
- Represents Intel defending multiple patent infringement actions filed by VLSI Technology LLC, an NPE and a subsidiary of Fortress Investment. This is the first time Intel has faced large-scale patent litigation filed by an NPE in China. VLSI also tried to obtain unreasonably high license fees by suing Intel for patent infringement in multiple U.S. procedures. As a counter measure, Intel and Apple have filed an antitrust complaint against VLSI in the U.S. This is a novel and creative litigation strategy for large technology companies to counteract NPEs.
- Represents TSMC in patent infringement and invalidity cases related to its “multi-layer substrate” invention patent. In this series of cases, the judgment confirming non-infringement was selected for inclusion in the 2024 Supreme People’s Court Intellectual Property Tribunal Judgments Digest (Case No. 149)
- Represents TSMC in patent infringement and trade secret disputes concerning its “semiconductor packaging” invention patent. This case was later included in the 2024 Supreme People’s Court Intellectual Property Tribunal Judgments Digest (Case No. 151). Ms. Yang developed a comprehensive, multi-layered litigation strategy, ultimately achieving favorable results and effectively protecting her client’s core technologies and business interests.
- Represents Cisco in the patent infringement action filed by Dunjun before the Suzhou IP Tribunal. This case presents itself with important legal issues includes proper infringement standard for a use method and proper standard for indirect patent infringement. Dunjun may be a so-called non-practicing entity (NPE) suing the largest networking company in the world. As NPEs transitioned from an emerging phenomenon to becoming increasingly popular in China, the outcome of this case will likely help shape the landscape of future patent litigation and dispute resolution involving NPEs.
- Represents Watson in Eli Lilly v. Watson Pharmaceuticals patent infringement case successfully reversing the first instance judgment. This case was selected as the first “Model IP Case” of the SPC, and the trial was broadcasted nationwide on the International IP Day of April 26, 2014. The SPC issued a second instance judgment in favor of Watson in 2017 where the court found Watson did not practice the patent-at-issue. Both injunction and RMB 151 million damages awarded by the first instance court were reversed. The case was selected as one of the annual “TOP 10 IP Cases” of the SPC.
- Represents LinkedIn in the patent infringement action filed by WSOU Investment, a globally active patent assertion entity. The patent at issue relates to presence notifications on instant messaging devices. WSOU Investment, LLC claimed that LinkedIn’s certain products allegedly infringed on its patent. This case presents itself with important legal issues including proper infringement standards in the communication and social networking industry. Also notably in this case, WSOU may be a so-called non-practicing entity (NPE) suing one of the largest networking companies. As NPEs transitioned from an emerging phenomenon to becoming increasingly popular in China, the outcome of this case will likely help shape the landscape of future patent litigation and dispute resolution involving NPEs.
- Represents Meizu defending the AML and FRAND lawsuit initiated by Qualcomm, in which Qualcomm claimed USD 65 million damages and requested the court to determine a FRAND rate for its wireless telecommunications SEPs. The civil actions include the first declaratory judgment for non-infringement action in AML in China. Creative strategies were designed and implemented which lead to a favorable settlement for the client.
- Represents Astellas, Japan’s second largest pharmaceutical company, in patent infringement cases before six major IP Courts and High Courts in China, seeking for damages in excess of RMB 180 million, against dozens of Chinese generic drug companies. Enzalutamide, protected by the asserted patent, is one of the top 10 anti-tumor drugs in the world, with global sales exceeding USD 2.5 billion in 2018. The highlights in this case include: oppositions were creatively filed to suspend CFDA’s review of drug applications filed by the accused infringers, and interim measures were successfully exploited in civil litigation to collect evidence.
- Represents Apple to defend against design patent infringement action filed by Baili as well as the related declaratory judgment and invalidation actions. As the infringement action was brought before an administrative agency rather than a judicial authority, the case attracted large scale of discussions on the problematic bifurcated system for IP protection. In 2017, the Beijing IP Court formed a five- judge grand panel and found iPhone did not infringe the asserted patent. The grand panel’s decision was upheld in the second instance by the Beijing High Court.
- Represents Innoscience in several patent infringement litigations against Infineon regarding semiconductor products before Suzhou Intermediate People’s Court.
- Represents InnoScience in initiating patent invalidation and infringement proceedings against EPC, addressing complex semiconductor technology disputes.
- Represents Power Integrations in four patent infringement actions against Fairchild before the Suzhou Intermediate Court for the first instance and the Jiangsu High Court for the second instance. Fairchild’s claims of infringement based on four patents and RMB 120 million as damages were dismissed with prejudice. The four cases involve power control technology and had some of the longest and most complex trials in China. The case was selected as one of the annual “TOP 10 IP Cases” by the China Bar Association.
- Represents Knowles in patent dispute with one of its main competitors, as a part of the global patent litigations between the two companies. The dispute was the largest patent case at the time of 2014. The amount of controversy totals RMB 250 million for 8 patent infringement actions and more than 10 patent invalidity actions before four different forums in China. In this extremely complicated patent dispute, creative strategies were designed and implemented which ultimately lead to a favorable settlement for the client.
- Represents TSMC in trade secret and ownership disputes related to semiconductor technologies against 8DLab, advised on a comprehensive multi-pronged action plan and secured favorable outcomes that effectively protected the client’s core technologies and business interests.
- Represents Applied Materials in trade secret and ownership disputes related to semiconductor technologies against a domestic company.
- Represents IBM in over 50 patent ownership and trade secret infringement litigations before the Supreme People’s Court, formulating a series of high-profile litigation strategies and securing favorable outcomes for the client.
- Advised GE Vernova on trade secret protection against Chinese local companies, providing strategic guidance on risk assessment, and enforcement strategies to safeguard proprietary technologies and confidential business information.
- Represents Vesuvius in a trade secret infringement case against a Chinese competitor and some of its former employees.
- Represents Shanghai Dangdang Electronic Technology Inc. in a successful SPC Certiorari Petition for a trade secret misappropriation case. Through creative strategies in collecting new evidence, the SPC was convinced and vacated the second instance judgment, in which the Shanghai High Court found the client’s behavior constituted infringement.
- Represents Ralph Lauren Corporation against various trademark squatters and infringers in over a hundred litigation proceedings, including trademark infringement lawsuits, copyright infringement lawsuits, unfair competition lawsuits and administrative litigation proceedings before multiple forums including Shanghai IP Court, Beijing IP Court, and Suzhou IP Court. Creative approaches were successfully adopted to collect key evidence and employed interim measures in IP litigation proceedings and have achieved favourable breakthroughs in these proceedings.
- Represents TSMC in multiple trademark administrative invalidation and administrative litigation disputes in China, successfully securing favorable rulings recognizing the client’s well-known trademarks.
- Represents NavInfo Co. Ltd., a market-leading Chinese navigation software and map company, on its successful copyright infringement claim against three Baidu companies found to be using “substantially similar navigation software” without permission. The Beijing Intellectual Property Court awarded NavInfo RMB64.5 million (US$9.8 million) in damages, the highest ever damages award for copyright infringement cases in China to date.
- Represents New Balance in New Balance v. Zhou trademark infringement case before Guangdong High Court and the SPC, in which a record-breaking RMB 98 million award was reduced to RMB 5 million. This case triggered extensive discussions on the issue of damages in trademark cases, and exemplified the importance of the court’s deliberate consideration of the issue of compensation.
