Our team

MICHELE FERRANTE - founder and managing partmer

MICHELE FERRANTE is the founder and the managing partner of FERRANTE INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY. He is an expert on the enforcement of IP rights and anti-counterfeit strategies in Asia.

Michele graduated in Law from the University of Milan and was later admitted to the Milan Bar. Starting his career in the same city, he practised in corporate and intellectual property law. He also practiced in the UK and France in different fields, before deciding to focus entirely on intellectual property. Advising clients on Chinese Intellectual Property matters since 1999, he was able to found his first firm, S&F INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY, in 2004. The main focus of Michele's practice is advising high-profile foreign companies in the protection of their IP rights and designing anti-counterfeit strategies in China tailored to their needs and/or requirements. He assists Fortune Global 500 companies in developing and enforcing brand protection strategies in PRC.

A regular speaker at international IP conferences, Michele has written several articles on IP issues which have been published in different international magazines. Collaborating with other institutions such as the Polytechnic University of Milan, the EU Chamber of Commerce and the People's University of Peking, he helps facilitate their graduate and training programs concerning IP. He is also a member of the Anti-Counterfeiting Committee (ACC) of the European Community Trademark Association (ECTA) and International Trademark Attorney Association (INTA). Additionally, he has been appointed as a Helpdesk Expert by the China IPR SME Helpdesk.

Michele has contributed to numerous EU-China IPR dialogues and governmental meetings. Two such examples include the Seminar on New Issues of Trademark Filing which focuses on bad faith trademark registration of international famous brands and the Seminar on Discussion about the new Trademark Law of China organized by the European Delegation of China & Mongolia. Michele has also collaborated with the US Department of Commerce in raising awareness on IPR Protection in China, giving his contribution to conferences and meetings organized by the Italian IPR Desk in Beijing and Guangzhou. Additionally, he was appointed as a moderator for the working group on China during the 31st ECTA Annual Meeting. Furthermore, Michele was a speaker at the ECTA workshop for "The Enforcement Challenges of IPRS in China and Europe" presenting the topic of 'The Enforcement of IPRs in China from a European Perspective'. He has also spoken at the American Bar Association's 29th Annual IP Law Conference, presenting various topics of IP law developments along with practice points in China.

Michele speaks fluent Italian, English, French and Spanish.

 

JAMES WANG - head of Legal Department

JAMES WANG is a partner of FERRANTE INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY based in Beijing and leads the firm's Legal Department.

James started his career as an Assistant Economist in a government entity under the Development and Reform Commission of Jiangxi Province after he graduated from Zhongnan University of Economics & Law (Wuhan, China) in 2001. In 2005, James was enrolled at Renmin University of China Law School (Beijing, China) as a civil and commercial law postgraduate and obtained his LL.M. degree in 2007. Specialising in the practice of intellectual property law, James has helped many leading international brands in registering, protecting and enforcing their intellectual property rights in China.

James assists and advises clients predominantly on trademark, copyright, and unfair competition law matters.

James is an experienced litigator and has an impressive record of winning important cases for his clients. He is a member of the Beijing Lawyers Association and All China Lawyers Association.

Besides his native language Chinese (Mandarin), James also speaks fluent English.

 

FELICE MELI - head of Anti-Counterfeiting Department

Felice has a legal background and experience in both civil and common law jurisdictions and he is currently assisting enterprises from a wide range of industries in assessing and enhancing their intellectual property rights portfolios, providing strategies on registration and prosecution actions in China and south-east Asia. Felice's experience in enforcement of IP rights in China include conducting administrative, civil and criminal actions, fighting the online sale of counterfeits, enforcement at trade fairs as well as customs border brand protection. Felice speaks fluent Italian and English, as well as advanced Spanish and basic Mandarin.