Joe Simone is Co-Chairman of East IP and the founding partner of SIPS, an intellectual property services provider that from March 2024 became part of the East IP Group.
Joe has over 36 years of experience in assisting foreign and Asian-based companies in registering and enforcing their IP rights.
Joe was born in Philadelphia and obtained his B.A. in Chinese Studies from the University of Pennsylvania in 1984. He obtained his JD from American University in 1987, after which he conducted research on Chinese copyright law in Beijing. Joe was admitted to practice law in California in 1988. Before establishing SIPS in 2012, Joe was a partner with the China offices of a major international law firm.
He is also an arbitrator for the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre, handling over 50 domain name disputes each year.
Aside from his work for clients, Joe is known for his work with major international and China-based industry associations that engage with governments in advocating for stronger laws and enforcement practices. Most recently, he has been active in the work of the International Trademark Association (INTA) in pressing for stronger legal protections against online infringement of IP and bad faith trademark registrations.
Joe was also involved on behalf of various European and American clients in the founding of the Quality Brands Protection Committee (QBPC) of the China Association of Enterprises with Foreign Investment. Joe previously served as the QBPC’s Vice Chairman and head of its Legal Committee.
Joe is fluent in Mandarin Chinese and Italian.
Joseph Simone “is an icon, one of the real first IP experts in Chinese law and very well respected,” a market source explains.
Chambers & Partners
