Coolpad Group, a leading global smartphone technology brand, announced the appointment of Nancy Zhang as its first Global Chief Intellectual Property Officer. Zhang was previously the Minister of Intellectual Property for Coolpad Group. Her latest role entails taking up a global position to drive Coolpad’s innovation in mobile technologies and counteract patent infringements.
Zhang holds a Master’s degree in Engineering from South China University of Technology and possesses a patent attorney license. She has ten years of corporate management experience in intellectual property management, and is also The Vice President of China Patent Protection Association, Vice President of Shenzhen Patent Association and Vice President of Shenzhen Copyright Association.
Over the past several years, Coolpad has invested heavily in innovation and intellectual property. Zhang has been in charge of setting up the company’s intellectual property team, which has doubled in size in the past few years. The company has also been hiring team members outside of China to increase the number of patent applications and awards in the US, India, and other countries.
Under Zhang’s direction in 2015, Coolpad became the only enterprise in Shenzhen, China to be awarded a National Intellectual Property Certification, The State Patent Award. This is the highest government Patent Award and the only government award recognized by the World Intellectual Property Organization (“WIPO”). Coolpad has received this Award seven times, with two based on Coolpad’s work in 5G.
On the new appointment, Syed Tajuddin, CEO-Coolpad India said, “As Coolpad is going to explore technologies in 5G and Artificial intelligence, this was the need of the hour, as we already hold 10,000+ patents and the number are going to increase considerably in future. While we have already started R&D to develop prominent technological advancements and will require patents in major markets like US and India, as it is going to be dominant part of our future business strategy. With so many brands in the technology development and technology consumption business, there is a strong requirement to keep a close watch on the patents to detect infringements and under a chief intellectual property officer, a dedicated team will serve the purpose.”
Nancy Zhang, Global Chief Intellectual Property Officer, Coolpad said, “I am excited for the new position and the new roles. Coolpad has always heavily invested in new technologies, and I’m particularly excited about the developments that we have and will make in 5G and artificial intelligence. As we continue to invest in R&D and new innovation, my role will be to ensure that we not only secure the necessary recognition of our technologies but also vigorously defend any infringement to our patents not only in our domestic markets, but also in the US and all other countries that we operate in.”
5G technologies have been a priority for innovation and Coolpad has more than 800 patents submitted and more than 300 authorized. While the company has been heavily involved in setting 5G standards with other industry leaders, Zhang will lead Coolpad’s 5G Standard Patent Portfolio and work with Coolpad partners like Qualcomm and Ericsson to manage licensing of their patents for Coolpad technologies.
Jiang Chao, CEO, Coolpad Group said, “Our early investment in intellectual property has led us to own over 10,000 patents already. As we continue to invest in innovation, including setting up a dedicated R&D center for artificial intelligence in Silicon Valley, we’re going to continue to secure more patents for our groundbreaking technologies. However, with innovation comes more opportunities for other companies to take advantage of our inventions for their own use. The appointment of Nancy Zhang as our first Global Chief Intellectual Property Officer indicates how seriously we take defending our innovations.”
