GoPro interview: Camera maker's view of business in China

What is your role at GoPro?

I joined GoPro as legal counsel-APAC last August after graduating from Stanford Law School and working at King & Wood Mallesons. I was the company's first lawyer for the Asia Pacific region and the first out of the total 20 counsel in our legal department to be based abroad.

Naturally, I cover a wide range of issues with the help of our team in California and many outstanding outside counsel. We have recently been doing a lot of corporate governance, contractual and strategic investment work. One or two small litigations as well. More specifically, we are building up our online and offline distribution infrastructure, collaborating with local entertainment platforms for licensing GoPro content, and drafting and negotiating ambassador contracts to have top Chinese athletes join the GoPro community. I also assist our IP and product team in California.

Di Yao, legal counsel APAC, takes a GoPro 'selfie'

Are GoPro products manufactured in China? What challenges do you face in terms of labor, retail and distribution?

Yes, GoPro products are manufactured in China. Like many other U.S. brands, we do not manufacture the products ourselves but instead have external factories in China.

We were lucky as we entered China with a strong sense of leadership from the very beginning. We also formed solid partnerships with distributors and retailers. And Chinese consumers love our cool products and content. We are building on these strengths and hoping for the best.

But of course, China is not the easiest place to do business. The challenges we deal with are also those constantly faced by many international companies, such as how to manage a growing team, maintain our brand and protect our IP.

It is also important to understand and comply with the Chinese employment regulations and various local rules. We carefully ensure that we are always caught up with the latest standards and best practice in China.

In terms of retail, GoPro has formed very good relationships with the largest online players such as Alibaba, JD and Amazon. We have done the same for our offline distribution, and had opened over 100 local GoPro stores in just one year. We aim to open more this year and provide our customers with more showrooms to experience our products. The biggest challenge in the future would be managing such a large portfolio in all the different cities.

All in all, we learned some valuable lessons in our relatively short time in Asia so far, and now have the right strategies and team in place to not only be reactive, but proactive, to the risks and opportunities that lie ahead.

‎What is the local competition environment like?

We offer high-end and high-quality products. Once we communicate the levels of quality and diversity of our cameras, most consumers think we are at the top and do not have competitors. We are, however, aware of the reality that–just like with anything else–there will always be someone who can make similar goods, but cheaper.

This shows how challenging the China market is. This sort of stiff “competition” does not exist in markets like Europe, Australia and India. China is unique in that if you're successful, 10 other companies will do exactly what you're doing, with a local strategy and lower price too. Many international brands in China have been victims of this.

Speaking of competition, have you been targeted by AML [Anti-monopoly Law] enforcement yet?

No, and we're thankful for that. We are doing everything to meet the AML's requirements, such as setting compliance standards for our pricing strategy. We do not have any issues, or foresee any, regarding the AML.

What are GoPro's biggest IP challenges and what sort of protective measures have been put in place?

At the global level, the company beefed up its central IP team, which includes a senior IP counsel under the supervision of our deputy general counsel. We recently hired a trademark counsel, who played a key role in all our trademark prosecution and litigation, a patent attorney, who writes our patents with the help of external lawyers, and a senior paralegal, who helps manage the global IP portfolio. In China, our IP team has strong on-the-ground support from our external counsel.

Our challenges are also similar to those faced by other multinationals in China. And quite frankly, I'd say the U.S. and China markets are the most troublesome for international companies. In the U.S., the costs of IP litigation are extremely high, while in China, it's more about fighting off the small guys who chase you and make business annoying.

How do you handle IP enforcement in China?

Online enforcement is our biggest concern. We maintain solid relationships with the IP teams of Alibaba and JD, which help us fight counterfeiters and protect our trademarks and copyright. Collaborating with them is extremely effective but it's a lot of work. We work with them to delete links monthly that contain counterfeit products, logos and images taken from our official website as well as videos from our YouTube and Youku channels. Deleting those Taobao links involves working with GoPro's business team as well. They know who to cut down and how they want to do it.

From my experience in King & Wood Mallesons, I witnessed counterfeiting factories become smarter over the years. They manufacture products that differ from the original to just the degree that makes it difficult for brand owners to enforce their rights. It's a challenge, but there are ways to exert your ownership in China.

Foreign companies would normally go to the AIC [Administration for Industry and Commerce] to fend off smaller players that don't have much of a stake. There isn't much point in litigating against them as they can't pay you anything. You'll receive a judgment that you can't enforce, so it doesn't make sense to spend lots of money going to court. So it is better to just call up the authorities, feed them the sources and they will handle the problem efficiently.

Companies pursue litigation for cases they think are very important to set a standard for the market and distributors. And there are definitely situations where you need to send a stronger message.

Many well-known foreign brands have faced Chinese-language trademark troubles – did GoPro register one?

Interestingly, we are on that right now. We're working with a naming agency that is helping us come up with something creative. They're the ones that came up with “Lingying” (which means “lead elite” in Chinese) for LinkedIn and “Manwei” (which means “comic power”) for Marvel, so hopefully we'll create one that works well for us and that allows us to build up a strong community.

Are there any recent regulatory developments that affect your work?

GoPro's business is fairly straight forward and we are well-prepared and work hard to comply with legal developments with help from our outside counsel.

The recent online publishing regulations could have an effect. Nothing devastating, but they state any publication projects with foreign companies need to be approved. Our partner platforms like Youku will perhaps need to notify the authorities and seek approval, and we will definitely assist them with that.

As GoPro also enters into the drone business, any drone-related regulations will be important for my work as well.

GoPro什么时候进入中国市场？业务发展得如何？

GoPro相 对还是中国市场的新成员，我们在2015年1月进入中国市场。头九个月的收入证明中国是GoPro有史以来增长最快的市场。去年，中国已经跻身GoPro十大市场之列，我们希望今年有大动作。

除了硬件销售外，GoPro也经营内容业务。我们通过各种渠道分享我们的制作团队和我们的用户创造的精彩GoPro内容。在中国，我们与当地最大的平台合作，与中国客户分享最佳GoPro内容。

我们在中国有三家办事处，最大的位于深圳，有超过80名员工；制造中心位于上海，同时也是销售、市场营销、制作和创意团队的工作地点；财务和人力资源部门则设在香港。

您在GoPro担任什么职务？

从斯坦福大学法学院毕业后，我曾在金杜律师事务所工作，去年八月我加入GoPro，担任亚太区法律顾问。我是公司的第一名亚太区律师。在法务部的20名法律顾问中，我是第一个常驻海外的。

在公司加州团队及许多出色的外部律师的协助下，我一般负责处理的事项范围广泛。近期，我们处理了大量的公司治理、合同和战略投资工作，还有一到两起较小的诉讼。具体而言，我们在打造线上线下的分销构架、就GoPro的内容许可与本地娱乐平台合作，并开展代言人合同的起草和谈判，邀请中国顶级运动员加入GoPro社区。此外，我也为公司在加州的知识产权和产品团队提供协助。

GoPro产品是在中国制造的吗？您在人事、零售和分销方面面临着哪些挑战？

是的，GoPro产品是在中国制造的。与许多其它美国品牌一样，我们自己不制造产品，但在中国有外部工厂。

幸运的是，我们从进入中国市场的一开始就有很强的领导意识，并且与分销商和零售商形成了稳固的合作伙伴关系。中国消费者青睐我们独特的产品和内容。我们以自身强项为基础，力争做到最好。

当然，在中国开展业务并非轻而易举。我们面临的挑战也是许多跨国公司所经常面对的问题，例如怎样管理一支不断壮大的团队、维护品牌及保护知识产权。

同样重要的是理解并遵守中国劳动法及各种地方规则。我们认真确保始终与中国最新标准和最佳实践保持同步。

在零售方面，GoPro已经与阿里巴巴、京东和亚马逊等最大的在线运营商建立了良好的关系。线下的分销也发展良好，我们在仅仅一年内便开设了100多家本地GoPro门店。我们计划在今年开设更多的门店，为顾客提供更多的展示厅来体验我们的产品。将来最大的挑战是在所有不同的城市管理好如此之大的门店组合。

总而言之，到目前为止我们在相对较短的时间里在亚洲学到了许多宝贵的经验。我们有正确的战略和团队，对于前方的风险和机遇，我们不仅能及时应对，更能积极主动，先行一步。

本地的竞争环境如何？

我们提供高端的优质产品。在我们宣传了我们的相机质量等级和多样性后，多数消费者认同我们是顶级的，没有竞争对手。但是，我们对现实非常了解——与其他任何产品一样，总有人能用更低的价格制造出类似的产品

这说明了中国市场的挑战性。如此“严酷＂竞争不存在于欧洲、澳大利亚和印度市场。中国市场的独特性在于，你一旦取得成功，便有其它10家公司用本地战略和更低的价格做跟你一样的事情。许多国际品牌在中国都成为这种竞争的受害者。

谈到竞争，您面临过反垄断法的执行吗？

没有，我们对此颇感欣慰。我们尽全力符合反垄断法的规定，例如为我们的定价战略制定合规标准。我们目前没有、也没有预见到与反垄断法相关的任何问题。

GoPro最大的知识产权挑战是什么？实施了哪些保护性措施？

在全球层面上，公司壮大了核心知识产权团队，其中包括一名在副法律总顾问手下工作的资深知识产权顾问。我们最近还聘用了在所有商标起诉和诉讼中发挥关键作用的商标顾问、在外部律师协助下撰写专利的专利律师，以及协助管理全球知识产权组合的高级律师助理。在中国，我们的知识产权团队获得外部律师强有力的本地支持。

我们面临的挑战与其他在华跨国企业差别不大。坦白说，我认为美国和中国市场对跨国企业来说最为棘手。在美国，知识产权诉讼的费用极高；而在中国，更多的是与小企业作战，他们很难摆脱，给业务带来不少麻烦。

您如何开展知识产权在中国的执行？

网上的执行是我们最大的问题。我们与阿里巴巴和京东的知识产权团队保持稳固的关系，以协助我们打击伪造者，保护我们的商标和版权。与他们合作是非常有效的，但涉及大量工作。我们与他们合作，每月删除那些含有假冒产品、从我们的官方网站上截取的标识和图像、以及YouTube和优酷频道视频的链接。删除淘宝链接也涉及与GoPro的业务团队合作。他们知道哪些内容应该删除，以及如何删除。

根据我在金杜工作的经验，我见证着假冒工厂近年来变得越来越“聪明＂。他们制造的假货会与真货不同的程度，刚好使品牌所有人难以强制执行他们的权利。这是一个挑战，但还是有方法在中国执行所有权。

跨国公司通常会通过工商局来阻止那些无足轻重的小企业。诉讼没有多大意义，因为他们不能付你任何钱。你将收到一份无法强制执行的判决书，所以花许多钱去法院没有意义。更好的做法是致电有关部门，为他们提供线索，让他们来有效地处理问题。

如果公司认为案件非常重要，能够给市场和分销商制定标准，也会提起诉讼。确实，在某些情况下需要发出更强的讯号。

许多知名外国品牌面临过中文商标的麻烦，GoPro注册过中文商标吗？

凑巧地，我们正在取中文商标名。我们与一家取名机构合作，协助我们取一个有创意的名称。他们曾给LinkedIn取名“领英＂（意为“领先英才＂），给Marvel取名“漫威＂（意为“漫画威力＂）。希望他们也能给GoPro取一个好名字，帮助我们建立强大的客户群。

近期有哪些监管动态对您的工作有所影响？

GoPro的业务相当直接明了，在外部律师的协助下，我们准备充分，努力遵行最新的法规。

最近的网上出版法规可能会有所影响。尽管不是什么毁灭性打击，但根据法规，与外国企业合作的任何出版项目需获得批准。我们的一些合作平台，例如优酷网站，可能需要通知有关部门并获得批准，但我们一定会为他们提供协助。

GoPro还进入了无人机业务领域，所以任何与无人机相关的法规对我的工作也很重要。