Licensing Executives Society China (LESC)

Established in 1986, LESC now has a membership of over 200, comprising of officials of China’s Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Co-operation, State Science and Technology Commission, State Copyright Bureau at both-state and local government levels, the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, as well as principal officers and licensing executives of large and medium-sized state enterprises of China, foreign trade companies, patent and law firms, scientific research and education institutes. In addition to members located in China, LESC accepts as members foreign individuals interested in licensing, and the membership of LESC now includes individuals from the USA and Germany. LESC holds regular seminars in China to update members on the development of licensing law and practice.

Licensing Executives Society International

Licensing Executives Society International Inc. (LESI) is the umbrella organization for 27 national and regional Licensing Executive Societies (LES), each composed of members who are engaged in licensing of intellectual property rights and the transfer of technology, from technical know-how and patented inventions to software, copyright, design and trade marks.

The LES are business-oriented associations with a collective worldwide membership of over 10,000 individuals who include business executives, lawyers, patent and trade mark attorneys, government organizations and officials, consultancy firms, engineers, scientists, academics, universities and research and development organizations.

The first society was founded in the US in 1965. Today, LES and LESI cover more than fifty countries, including Arab countries, Argentina, Australia and New Zealand, Austria, Benelux, Brazil, Great Britain and Ireland, China, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Israel, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, the Philippines, Russia, Scandinavia, Singapore, South Africa, Spain and Portugal, Switzerland, and the USA and Canada.

The objectives of LESI are to function as a non-profit, professional society encouraging high professional standards among individuals engaged in the transfer and licensing of technology and industrial or intellectual property rights; to assist its members in improving their skills and techniques in licensing through self education, the conduct of special studies and research, the sponsorship of educational meetings, the publication of statistics, reports, articles and other material, and the exchange of ideas related to domestic and foreign licensing; to inform the public, international bodies, governmental bodies, and the business community concerning the economic significance of licensing and the high professional standards of those engaged in the licensing profession; and to make available to its members the latest, most accurate, information on licensing.

LESI has specialist industrial committees, which deal with licensing and technology transfer issues in relation to automotive industry, chemical industries, healthcare products, environment technologies, biotechnology, IT and e-commerce, and industry-university transactions.

LES membership brings a series of benefits: members can network with the unique blend of business, technical and legal professionals; business opportunities may arise through contacts provided on the international membership directory; members are kept informed and educated through conferences, courses, seminars, workshops, and publications such as Les Nouvelles, the leading technology transfer and licensing journal published quarterly by LESI; and the association provides a forum for debating and sharing common issues and experiences. LESI is strictly non-political and is free to grow through the creation of member societies throughout the world, irrespective of the state of technological development. LESI has a constitution and by-laws, and its officers, i.e. the members of its Board of Directors, are elected by a board of international delegates. The board of delegates is responsible for the conduct of the affairs of the LESI and for dealing with its interaction with various international bodies, the supervision of the Les Nouvelles, the provision of funds, support and other assistance to existing and new societies.