Professor GUAN Wenwei, LLB (Zhongshan University), LLM (Peking University), MA and PhD (University of British Columbia), is Associate Professor at CityU School of Law. His research interests cover intellectual property, international trade, trade and investment in the PRC and legal theory. Representative publications include monographs Intellectual Property Theory and Practice (Springer 2014), WTO Jurisprudence (Routledge 2020) and other peer reviewed articles in various journals such as World Trade Review, Journal of International Economic Law and Journal of World Trade.

Selected Articles

• Guan, W. “Intellectual Property Rights’ Trade Relevance.” 59.1 Journal of World Trade (forthcoming in February 2025).
• Guan, W. “Copyright Anti-circumvention and Free Trade.” 52.2 Journal of World Trade (2018), 257-280.
• Guan, W. “Diversified FRAND Enforcement and TRIPS Integrity.” 17.1 World Trade Review (2018), 115-139.
• Guan, W. “Copyright v Freedom of Contract: The ‘Contract Override’ Issue in Hong Kong’s Copyright Amendment.” 47.1 Hong Kong Law Journal (2017), 115-142.
• Guan, W. “Beijing Consensus and Development Legitimacy: The Evolution of China’s Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) Regime from a Law & Development Perspective.” 12.1 Asian Journal of Comparative Law (2017), 115-139.
• Guan, W. “Balancing IP & Competition in TRIPS: International Diversity in IP-Competition Dynamics under the Unity of TRIPS.” 13.1 Soochow Law Journal (2016), 95-142.
• Guan, W. “IPRs, Public Health, and International Trade: An International Law Perspective on the TRIPS Amendment.” 29.2 Leiden Journal of International Law (2016), pp. 411-440.
• Guan, W. “Fair Dealing Doctrine Caught between Parody & UGC Exceptions: Hong Kong’s 2014 Copyright Amendment and Beyond.” 45.3 Hong Kong Law Journal (2015), pp. 719-742.
• Guan, W. (2014) “International Trade ‘from Status to Contract’ and Back: A Critique of the NME Normal Value Determination and Beyond.” 7.1 Journal of East Asia and International Law (2014), pp. 79-106. doi: 10.14330/jeail.2014.7.1.04.
• Guan, W. (2014) “Consensus Yet Not Consented: A Critique of the WTO Decision-Making by Consensus.” 17.1 Journal of International Economic Law (2014), pp. 77-104. doi: 10.1093/jiel/jgu004.
• Guan, W. (2014) “How General Should the GATT General Exceptions Be?: A Critique of the ‘Common Intention’ Approach of Treaty Interpretation.” 48.2  Journal of World Trade (2014), pp. 219-258.
• Guan, W. (2012) “When Copyrights Meet Human Rights: ‘Cyberspace Article 23’ and Hong Kong’s Copyright Protection in the Digital Era.” 42.3 Hong Kong Law Journal (2012), pp. 785-808.
• Guan, W. (2010)“Legitimacy Dynamics: Rights, Norms, and Local Cultural Imperatives — Government and the Recognition of Individual Creation in China’s IP Law.” 3.3 International Journal of Private Law (2010), pp. 300-316.
• Guan, W. (2009) “PRC Legislation in the First Half of 2009: the Saga of a Well-structured Legal Reform Continues.” 1 City University of Hong Kong Law Review (2009), pp. 163–174. Invited note for the inaugural issue of the CityU Law Review.
• Guan, W. (2008) “Development Deficit and Modern Law’s Myth of Origin.” 8.1 Global Jurist (Advances) (2008), Article 2, available at: http://www.bepress.com/gj/vol8/iss1/art2.
• Guan, W. (2008) “The Poverty of Intellectual Property Philosophy.” 38.2 Hong Kong Law Journal (2008), pp. 359-397.

Books and Book Chapters

• Guan, W. The Social Contract Rediscovered: Jurisprudence and Legitimacy Beyond International Commercial Law (London: Routledge, forthcoming in 2025).
• Guan, W. “Intellectual Property Rights Integrated in Economic Integration,” in J. Chaisse & C. Herrmann eds., The International Law of Economic Integration, Part 5: § 72 (UK: Oxford University Press, forthcoming in 2024).
• Guan, W. The Origin of Copyright: Expression as Knowing in Being and Copyright Onto-Epistemology (London: Routledge, 2021), 206 p.
• Guan, W. (2020) WTO Jurisprudence: Governments, Private Rights, and International Trade (London: Routledge, 2020), XIII, 238 p. ISBN: 9780367855666 / 9780367428761.
• Guan, W. “Copyright in the Digital Age: A view from Asia,” in Jacques de Werra ed., Copyright 4.0 (Geneva: Schulthess, 2018), 117-143.
• Guan, W. “China’s Free Trade from SEZs, to CEPA and to FTZs: the Beijing Consensus in Global Convergence and Divergence,” in Yun ZHAO & Michael NG (eds.), Chinese Legal Reform and the Global Legal Order: Adoption and Adaptation (Cambridge University Press, 2017), 104-124.
• Guan, W. “User Generated Content (UGC) Exceptions and Hong Kong’s Copyright Amendment,” in Yahong LI (ed.), Copyright, the Internet and the Balance of Rights (HKU Press, 2016; Text in Chinese), 63-75. 關文偉，“「用戶衍生內容」例外與香港版權條例修訂，”見李亞虹主編，版權、網絡和權利平衡（香港大學出版社, 2016）, 第63-75頁。
• Guan, W. (2014) Intellectual Property Theory and Practice:  A Critical Examination of China’s TRIPS Compliance and Beyond (Heidelberg: Springer, 2014), XI, 168 p. 5 illus.  ISBN: 978-3-642-55264-9.
• Guan, W. (2013) “The Rule of Law in the WTO: The Hope and the Disappointment of WTO Decision Making,” in Guiguo WANG & Fan YANG eds., The Rule of Law: A Comparative Perspective (Festschrift for Anton MJ COORAY on the Occasion of his Sixty-fifth Birthday) (City University of Hong Kong Press, 2013), pp. 85-106.
• Guan, W. (2011) “A Comparative Study of Olympic Marks Protection and Beyond: the United States, Canada, and China,” in Pitman B. Potter & Ljiljana Biuković eds., Globalization and Local Adaptation in International Trade Law (UBC Press, 2011), pp. 256-284.

Honors and Awards

• Outstanding Research Award 2020, CityU School of Law
• Pacific Century Graduate Scholarship (2007–2008), University of British Columbia (UBC)
• University Graduate Fellowship (2006–2007), UBC
• Humane Studies Fellow (2005–2006), Institute for Humane Studies at George Mason University
• Law Foundation Fellowship (2005), UBC Faculty of Law
• Dean’s Fund Fellowship (2004–2007), UBC Faculty of Law
• Student Disarmament Research Associate (2003–2004), Simons Centre for Peace and Disarmament Studies at UBC
• Aetna Annual Scholarship (1999–2000), Peking University
• Guanghua Annual Scholarship (1998–1999), Peking University

Research Projects

• Principal Investigator, “A Preliminary Study of the Development of Copyright Exceptions in Hong Kong’s Copyright Amendments,” CityU Strategic Research Grant (Project No. 7004990), HKD100,000, September 2017 to August 2018.
• Principal Investigator, “IP-competition Dynamics in China’s Anti-monopoly Law Enforcement: A Preliminary Study on Damages from Anticompetitive IPR Abuse,” CityU Strategic Research Grant (Project No. 7004790), HKD100,000, October 2016 to September 2017.
• Principal Investigator, “Copyright and Free Speech in the Web 2.0 Era: Hong Kong and Taiwan’s Parody Copyright Exception and Beyond,” funded by Chiang Ching-kuo Foundation for International Scholarly Exchange (CCKF, Project Number: RG015-P-15), USD40,000, July 2016 to June 2018.
• Principal Investigator, “IP-Competition Dynamics and China’s New Rules on Prohibiting IPRs Abuse: A Preliminary Study on IPRs Abuse,” CityU Strategic Research Grant (Project No. 7004578), HKD100,000, October 2015 to September 2016.
• Principal Investigator, “A Study on Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Free Trade Cooperation by reference to the Development in China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone,” School Strategic Research Grant, HKD199,932, February 2015 to July 2016.
• Principal Investigator, “A Law-Economics Study on the Antitrust Enforcement Implications of Vertical Restraints in Automobiles Franchising,” CityU Seed Grant (Project No. 7003011), HKD100,000, April 2013 to June 2014.
• Principal Investigator, “A Law-Economics Study on the Intellectual Property and Competition Dynamics,” CityU Strategic Research Grant (Project No. 7008078), HKD176,728, October 2010 to June 2012.
• Principal Investigator, “Commutative Justice vs. Distributive Justice: A Comparative Study of Civil Justice Reform in Hong Kong and the Mainland,” CityU Start-up Grant for New Staff (Project No. 7200212), HKD100,000, August 2010 to June 2012.

Conference Proceedings

• Invited Presentation, “Technology-Copyright Interface and AI Works Protection,” at the 11th Cross-strait Copyright Annual Forum, by Peking University, at Shenzhen, China, 11 December 2019.
• Invited Presentation, “A Comparative Case Analysis of FRAND Enforcement and WTO Implications,” at the Case Law and Guiding Cases Forum, at National Judges College, Beijing, China, 8 December 2019.
• Invited Presentation, “‘Education Track’ Cooperation under ‘One Country Two Systems’ and GBA IP Dispute Resolution Initiative,” at the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Forum on Greater bay Legal Education and National Governance, at Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China, 30 November 2019.
• Invited Presentation, “Technology, Innovation & Copyright: TPMs & Copyright Reform in Hong Kong & Beyond,” at the 1st IP & Innovation Researchers of Asia Conference, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 1st February 2019.
• Invited Presentation, “Technology-Innovation-IPRs Dynamics and Regional Trade Implications for the Greater Bay Area,” at the Greater Bay Area IP Innovation & Development Forum, Guangzhou, China, 16th January 2019.
• Invited Presentation, “Technological Advances and Hong Kong's Copyright Amendment,” at the 10th Cross-Strait Forum on Copyright Legal Development, at Guangzhou, China, 10 December 2018.
• Invited Presentation, “The Progress of Hong Kong Copyright Amendments & Implications,” Research Dissemination Talk of the Chiang Ching-kuo Foundation for International Scholarly Exchange sponsored project (CCKF Project No.: RG015-P-15) at School of Law, National Chengchi University, Taipei, 17 November 2017.
• Invited Presentation, “Copyright Exceptions, Circumvention & Free Trade,”at the 9th Cross-strait Copyright Annual Forum, at Northwest University, Xi’an, China, 2 September 2017.
• Invited Presentation, “Copyright v Freedom of Contract in Copyright Amendment: a Hong Kong experience,” at the 11th WIPO Advanced Intellectual Property Research Forum: Intellectual Property Reforms – International and Comparative Dimensions, organized by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), Geneva, Switzerland, 24 May 2017.
• Invited Presentation, “Beijing Consensus & Development Legitimacy: the Evolution of China’s FDI Regime & Beyond,” at the Institute of East Asian Studies, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany, 13 March 2017.
• Invited Presentation, “Copyright in the Digital Age: a view from Asia,” at the Copyright 4.0, hosted by the Faculty of Law, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland, 22 February 2017
• Invited Presentation, “Copyright v Freedom of Contract: the ‘Contract Override’ Issue in Hong Kong’s Copyright Amendment,” at the Asian Pacific Copyright Association Conference 2016: Copyright in the Asian Pacific: the challenges and opportunities, co-hosted by Asian Pacific Copyright Association and the Faculty of Law, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 21 November 2016.
• Invited Presentation, “SEPs’ FRAND Terms Enforcement in TRIPS: A Contract or Antitrust Issue?” at the Workshop of Joint Research Project on Prosumerism and IP, hosted by Faculty of Law, the University of Hong Kong, 6 May 2016.
• Invited Presentation, “UGC Exceptions & HK’s Copyright Amendment,” at the Workshop of Joint Research Project on Prosumerism and IP, hosted by Vienna University of Business and Economics, 8 March 2016.
• Invited Presentation, “Balancing IP & Competition in TRIPS: International Diversity in IP-Competition Dynamics under the Unity of TRIPS,” at the 2016 Taipei Conference on International and Comparative Law, hosted by Soochow University Law School, Taipei, 15 January 2016.
• Invited Presentation, “From SEZs, CEPAs to FTZs: China Reform 2.0 and the Free Trade Cooperation in the Pearl River Delta,” at the First Cross-Strait Economy & Law Forum and Inaugural Conference of the Macau-Taiwan Chamber of Commerce, hosted by the Macau-Taiwan Chamber of Commerce, Macau, 23 October 2015.
• Invited Presentation, “Copyright Protection and Re-creation: An Examination on the Secondary Creation Exception in Hong Kong’s Copyright Amendment,” at the China IP Association Annual Meeting 2015: Exercise Intellectual Property Rule of Law to Facilitate Innovation-driven Development, co-hosted by China IP Association and Jinan University, Guangzhou, China, 19-20 September 2015.
• Keynote Speech, “Secondary Creation Exception and Hong Kong’s Copyright Amendment 2014,” at the Symposium on the New Development of International Copyright Protection, cohosted by Intellectual Property Committee of Guangdong Law Society and the Intellectual Property Protection Association of the Guangdong Province, Guangzhou, China, 27 June 2015.
• Invited Presentation, “FTZs the China Reform 2.0: PRD Free Trade Cooperation under CEPA/FTZ,” at the Beyond Convergence and Divergence?: Symposium on Chinese Legal Reform and the Global Legal Order, hosted by the Faculty of Law, Hong Kong University, Hong Kong, 2 June 2015.
• Invited Presentation, “UGC Copyright Exception in the Context of HK’s Copyright Amendment & Beyond,” at the Sixth Cross-strait Copyright Annual Forum, Guangzhou, China, 12-14 December 2014.
• Invited Presentation, “UK’s Trade Secrets Protection under Common Law Breach of Confidence,” at the Symposium on Legal Issues of Trade Secrets, co-hosted by the Supreme People’s Court and Shanghai East China University of Political Science and Law, Shanghai, China, 20 November 2014.
• Invited Presentation, “Hong Kong’s Compliance with TRIPS Amendment for Public Health Consideration,” at the China IP Association Annual Meeting 2014: Deepening Reform and China’s IP System, co-hosted by China IP Association and Tongji University, Shanghai, China, 25-26 October 2014.
• Invited Presentation, “IP-Competition Dynamics in China: the Newly Drafted Rules on Prohibiting IPRs Abuse,” at the Second Asia Pacific IP Forum, hosted by Seoul National University Law School, Seoul, Korea, 1-2 October 2014.
• Invited Presentation, “TRIPS’s Paragraph 6 System and Hong Kong’s Implementation,” at The Law and Policy of Pharmaceutical Patents in Hong Kong: Evaluating the Regulatory Framework, hosted by the Faculty of Law, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 23-24 June 2014.
• Invited Presentation, “IP & Competition Policy in TRIPS: Implications for Foreign Investment in China,” at the Second East Asian IP Forum, co-hosted by Renmin University Law School, Seoul National University Law School and Hokkaido University Law School, Seoul, Korea, 2 May 2014.
• Invited Presentation, “Compulsory Licensing of Pharmaceuticals: Can TRIPS Work for Promoting Public Health?” at the  First Asia Pacific IP Forum, co-hosted by Renmin University Law School, Seoul National University Law School, Hokkaido University Law School, Suzhou, China, 16-17 November 2013.
• Invited Presentation, “OSP’s Duty of Disclosure on Online Copyright Infringement,” at the First East Asian IP Forum, co-hosted by Renmin University Law School, Seoul National University Law School & Hokkaido University Law School, Suzhou, China, 7 April 2013.
• Invited Presentation, “When Copyrights Meet Human Rights: ‘Cyberspace Article 23’ and Hong Kong’s Copyright Protection in the Digital Era,” at conference Searching for the Boundaries of Intellectual Property Law, co-hosted by Hong Kong University Law School, Drake University Law School and Peking University Law School, Hong Kong, 15 December 2012.
• Invited Speaker, “When Intellectual Property Meets Competition Policy: A Legal or Economic Issue?” (in Chinese)on behalf of the SRG research team, to faculty and students at the School of International Business Administration, Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, Shanghai, China, 17 December 2010.
• Invited Speaker, “the Local-Foreign Dynamics in the Evolution of China’s Copyright Law and the East vs. West IP Philosophy Contrast” (in Chinese), at the International Forum on the Centennial of Chinese Copyright Legislation” (中国著作权法律百年国际论坛) hosted by the Renmin University of China, Beijing, China, 14-15 October 2010.
• Invited Speaker, “China’s IP Regime in relation to the WTO Framework & Implications” at the 2nd Annual IPR seminar “Managing IPR as a Business Asset in Greater China” held by European Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong (a project sponsored by the European Union), Hong Kong, 25 June 2010.
• Invited Speaker, “IP Enforcement in China in the Context of TRIPS: facts, figures, and challenges” at the “Workshop on Dispute Settlement: Arbitration and Mediation of Intellectual Property Disputes” co-hosted by UNCTAD, WIPO, and Guangdong Intellectual Property Office, Guangzhou, China, 23 November 2009.
• Invited Speaker, “WTO Service Schedule Interpretation and Implications for Law of Treaties” (in Chinese), at the Mainland, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau Legal Development Academic Seminar 2009 (2009兩岸四地法律發展學術研討會), hosted by the University of Macau, Macau, 16-17 November 2009.