Board of Advisors

Dr. Gao is an uncommonly qualified expert in the field of intellectual property. He worked for more than 14 years in public office in the field of intellectual property protection in China and, although he has since retired from public duty, he is still active in the area as a consultant, panelist, and professor in a number of private non-governmental organizations and universities. During the course of his career, he has held the positions of Commissioner of the Chinese Patent Office and Commissioner of State Intellectual Property Office (China). He was a senior advisor to the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) for roughly two years and is currently the Honorary Chairman of the China Intellectual Property Society, Vice Chairman of the China Internet Society and a Member of the Steering Committee of the China Internet Network Information Center.

Dr. Gao has headed numerous delegations for the Chinese government at many international forums and diplomatic conferences on intellectual property. He has also held the Chair of the Paris Union Assembly and the WIPO General Assembly. In 1995, he was given the Grand Star Cross by the German government for his remarkable contributions to the field of IP protection and international cooperation and in that same year, the European Patent Office awarded him the International Cooperation Medal for his contributions to the field. He frequently gives lectures on intellectual property at the Peking University’s Law School and has published numerous works on patent prosecution and litigation, licensing, IPR protection, TRIPS Agreement and domain names. His publications include “How Do Foreigners Seek Patent Protection for Their Technology” in China Law; “Patent System and Market Economy” published in Reform and Its Theory, Tentative Ideas for Further Improvement of the Chinese Patent System (Chinese and English); “China and the TRIPS Agreement” (Chinese and English) which was presented at the APEC Industrial Property Symposium of The Development of Industrial Property Systems Towards the 21st Century in August 1996 in Tokyo, Japan; and “China’s Accession to the WTO and Protection of Intellectual Property” (Chinese and English), published in China Patents and Trademarks.

Dr. Gao is not only an intellectual property expert but also has strong technology backgrounds. His first degree, a Bachelor’s of Science, was in prospecting technology and he earned a Ph.D. in the area from one of the top schools in the former Soviet Union. For many years, he worked in research institutes, ministries, at the State Planning Commission and the State Economic Planning Commission as a technology specialist and although in later years the major thrust of his career shifted to intellectual property issues, he has remained active in the field. He is currently a Fellow of the Russian International Academy of Engineering. Dr. Gao speaks Chinese (native), English and Russian.

Ian Harvey has an MA in Mechanical Sciences from Cambridge University and an MBA from Harvard University. He was with Vickers and Laporte Industries for ten years before seven years at the World Bank. He joined BTG in 1985 as Chief Executive Officer. Between 1988 and 1993 he served as a member of the Prime Minister’s Advisory Council on Science and Technology. He is a fellow of Nottingham University (1994), has been a member of the Advisory Panel for “SPRU” (Science and Technology Policy Research Unit of Sussex University) from 1989-2003; became a Director of the Intellectual Property Institute in 1998 and was appointed as Institute Chairman in July 1999. He is a director of Primaxis Technology Ventures Inc. and a member of the Appointments Committee of the Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council. He is a Companion of the British Institute of Management and sits on the Companions’ Board, and is a member of Air Products & Chemicals Inc European Advisory Council. In 2001 he was appointed the founding Chairman of the UK Government’s Intellectual Property Advisory Committee.

Susan Mann serves as a Federal Government Affairs Manager at Microsoft. Prior to joining Microsoft, Susan worked for 9 years as a principal in the lobbying firm of Griffin, Johnson, Dover, & Stewart, where she represented clients in the music and film industries. Susan has also served as Administrator for the Office of Legislative and International Affairs at the Patent and Trademark Office, U.S. Department of Commerce, and as Attorney-Advisor in the same office. While at the Department, she participated in numerous multilateral and bilateral intellectual property negotiations and also served as an advisor on legislative and policy initiatives affecting the trade aspects of, and the protection of, intellectual property rights. Ms. Mann has focused on legislative and copyright matters as an associate of the law firm Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton, and Garrison in Washington, DC. She has also served as a legislative/regulatory analyst with a trade association and as a congressional staffer.

Dr. Jacques Michel, the former Vice President of the European Patent Office (EPO), has contributed greatly to the patent world. He has served as a policy maker, politician, and diplomat. He held various positions in the French Secretariat of State for Research and the Ministry of Industry, related to problems of scientific and technological information issues. Dr. Michel also served as Assistant and then Senior Assistant at the Science Faculty of Paris-Orsay. Prior to that, he was appointed Science Attaché to the French Embassy to the United States of America where he monitored the fields of chemistry, materials, environment, nuclear technology, and other science and technological information. Dr. Michel has a doctorate in Physical Science.