On September 23, 2026, the inaugural edition of the Copyright 1000 goes live on the IAM and WTR websites.

Focused exclusively on copyright law and practice, the Copyright 1000 identifies the world’s leading copyright practitioners and firms operating at the very top of the legal market across key jurisdictions worldwide. The practices and practitioners are ranked in highly recommended and recommended, reflecting reputation, track record and peer recognition within the market.

Wanhuida Intellectual Property is one of the thirteen domestic Chinese law firms recommended by the guide. The firm is hailed by the guide as a player that is “becoming increasingly difficult to overlook in China's copyright market”. The research team commends the firm’s “serious copyright offering”, mixing “courtroom muscle with policy know-how” and a “keen understanding of the problems created when copyright collides with technology and digital business”.

The firm’s three practitioners are featured in the 27 recommended individuals. Bai Gang, Founding Partner and Management Committee Chair, is highly recommended for being “a steady hand” in handling complicated copyright disputes and his compelling niche of “finding a way through cases where copyright overlaps with wider commercial and IP rights”.

Zhu Zhigang, Partner and Management Committee member wins recommendation of the guide for bringing “sharp contentious instincts to technically nuanced disputes” and giving clients “a joined-up approach to securing and defending valuable IP”.

Partner Lu Xue makes the cut for her expertise in “online platforms and rights commercialisation” and a “sharp commercial eye” to disputes in which copyright, trademarks and unfair competition become tangled together.

The Copyright 1000 is the result of extensive qualitative research. The analysts conduct in‑person, telephone and video interviews with copyright practitioners and market commentators, alongside detailed written submissions outlining recent work and developments. Leading firms and individuals are identified and evaluated based on their depth of expertise, market standing and sophistication of work.