Lulin Gao

Country of Citizenship: People's Republic of China ("PRC")
Place of Residence: Beijing, PRC
E-mail: lulin_gao@hotmail.com

For more information. please visit http://www.lulin-gao.org
Employment (including consulting work):
2000 - present, Senior Consultant, East Venture Inc., an Internet and high-tech consulting company with operations in the Greater China Region.

Past Employment and Other Experience related to ICANN Organization Issues

1998 - 2000, Senior Advisor, World Intellectual Property Organization ("WIPO"), Geneva.
Assisted in the creation and formulation of WIPO Worldwide Academy; developed training courses on protection of intellectual property rights ("IPR") for developing countries; participated in an extensive international process of consultations (the "WIPO Process") on e-commerce, IPR protection on the Internet, and dispute settlement mechanisms involving well-known trademarks and domain names. The purpose of the WIPO Process was to make recommendations to ICANN on certain issues relating to the interface between domain names and IPR.

1998 - 1998, Commissioner, State Intellectual Property Office ("SIPO"), PRC
Responsible for restructuring the China Patent Office and creation of SIPO. One of functions of SIPO is to coordinate international cooperation affairs for patents, trademarks, and copyrights administration in China.

1987 - 1998, Commissioner, China Patent Office ("CPO"), PRC
Played an important role in the legislative process to amend the Patent Law of the PRC to make it more in line with the requirements of the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights ("TRIPS Agreement") under the World Trade Organization ("WTO") regime; led the initiative to computerize the patent process; developed international cooperation in the IPR field, including accession by China to major international IPR treaties.

1983 - 1987, Director General of Science and Technology Department, State Economic Commission ("SEC"), PRC
Responsible for the state science and technology planning efforts and promotion of invention and innovation in enterprises.

In addition, during 1980's and 1990's, I served multiple terms as chairperson and vice chairperson of WIPO General Assembly, Coordination Committee, Paris Union Assembly and WIPO's relevant diplomatic conferences dedicated to forming international treaties on IPR.

Additional Biographical Information
I was born in Shanghai, China in 1935. I obtained B.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Moscow. In 1995, I was awarded the Fellow of Russian International Academy of Engineering. In the same year, I was granted International Cooperation Medal by the European Patent Office and Grand Star Cross medal by the German government for my contribution to the IPR protection and international cooperation. From 1987 to 2000, I was engaged as Visiting Professor by Peking University Law School to teach courses on IPR. I speak Chinese, English and Russian. My hobbies include reading, listening to music and Internet-surfing. I began to develop my skills on basketball playing and swimming since childhood and recently found mountain-climbing to be a sport that my wife and I enthusiastically pursue on weekends. We have one younger son graduated from Stanford University and two older daughters, one graduated from Louisiana State University and the other graduated from Franklin Pierce Law Center in the United States.

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Statement of Interest

Intimate Understanding of Culture of this Region

It is my great honor to be nominated as a candidate of the ICANN's At-Large Director from Asia/Pacific Region. The unmatched participation by people in this Region in the on-line registration for ICANN At-Large Membership significantly demonstrates the sport and strength of the Internet community in this Region, which has now become one of the most active parts in the world in terms of development of e-commerce and the Internet. In the past few years, we have all witnessed the rapid growth of the Internet in certain countries and regions in this Region, such as China, Korea, Taiwan, India and Malaysia. The fast growth deserves representation on the board of ICANN by someone who intimately understands the unique culture and needs of the Internet community in this Region, especially the unparalleled features of the developing markets in this Region. These developing countries and regions see the Internet as a way to speed up integration with the rest of world, modernization of their business environments and improvement of living standards. Indeed, the opportunities presented by the Internet have the potential to enable these developing countries and regions to be able to compete on an equal footing with their international counterparts in more developed markets.

Expertise in Intellectual Property Laws and Policies

ICANN is primarily an organization with the broad charter of developing, promoting and administering an internationally recognized system for Internet naming and numbering assignments. A key part of its charter is the effective collaboration with the regulatory, legal, and commercial sectors. Intellectual property considerations underlie much of the administrative and strategic challenges of ICANN because the tension between domain names (the web identifiers) and intellectual property rights (the business identifiers) have led to numerous problems that raise challenging policy questions. My breadth and depth of experience, coupled with a deep understanding and expertise of intellectual property law and high technology, would be definitely valuable to ICANN in dealing with such public policy challenges. If necessary, I can help create an ICANN focus group of intellectual property specialists and Internet experts to study and formulate policies and guidelines related to Internet naming and Intellectual Property Rights. I believe that my professional network of global intellectual property experts and Internet communities can further add credibility and momentum to ICANN's efforts.

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Experience and Knowledge in the Internet

I began to be involved in Internet technology at its early stages of development when I served as Director General of Science and Technology Department of China's State Economic Commission back in the early 1980's. I participated in a series of consultations relating to building computer networks throughout China because this new medium had been considered as one of the most promising high-tech sectors that can increase efficiency in the businesses as well as government administration. After I took office at China Patent Office in 1987, I led the initiative to computerize CPO's internal patent work process, including patent application, electronic search and examination via CPO's Intranet system. During the term of my office, a world-wide web site of CPO: http://www.cpo.cn.net was built in 1996 and CPO became one of the first government agencies in China to use the Internet. Under my direction, CPO conducted feasibility study on patent search and electronic filing for patent applications via the Internet. During my service in WIPO, I was intensively involved in Internet activities including organization of training courses on intellectual property and the Internet as well as distance learning programs on intellectual property issues via the Internet. I was actively engaged in the International Conference on E-Commerce and Domain Name Dispute Resolution Process sponsored by WIPO in cooperation with ICANN. My hands-on experience and knowledge on the Internet and other high technologies affords me the requisite expertise to better understand issues peculiar to ICANN.

International Level Leadership Track Record Through WIPO

My history of leadership roles in international organizations has demonstrated a strong ability to work with international constituents in a constructive and cooperative manner. During the decades of service that I devoted to the field of intellectual property, I was a key figure in national as well as international intellectual property organizations. I led a Chinese delegation each year consisting of leaders in the trademark, copyright, and patent fields to participate in the WIPO Plenary Assembly of Member States to discuss issues in relation to intellectual property rights, e-business, intellectual property protection on the Internet, and resolution of intellectual property disputes involving well-known trademarks and domain names. I was selected multiple times as the Chairperson, Vice Chairperson of many notable unions of international treaties on intellectual property, including Assembly of the Paris Union for Protection of Industrial Property, the Paris Union Executive Committee, WIPO General Assembly, WIPO Coordinate Committee as well as Diplomatic Conferences related to the field of intellectual property. As a Senior Advisor for WIPO, I drafted the WIPO Training Program and annual working plans, provided advisory recommendations on training policy for the improvement of the organization of training courses, development of teaching materials, promotion of the use of the Internet for distance learning, and the formation and development of the WIPO Worldwide Academy. I have a history of successfully and smoothly working with people of diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds.

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Impartiality and Objectivity

I always maintain the highest standard of professional and personal integrity. I strive to be proactive, objective, analytical and responsible in all my endeavors. This integrity and the willingness to stand up for what I believe is why I am well respected and recognized within China as well as in international organizations, and is evidenced by the wide support I have received in many leadership roles in key organizations such as WIPO and Paris Union for Protection of Industrial Property. Further, my working experiences with people from non-profit organizations, such as the China Industrial Property Society and China Intellectual Property Society, and with academia, such as Peking University Law School, as well as with Internet community in this Region provide me with the ability to understand the needs and interests of the general public in terms of policies that affect their life. Thus, I believe that I am suitable to be an ICANN At-Large Membership representative.

Required Disclosures

I am currently serving as a Senior Consultant of East Venture Inc., a newly established Internet and high-tech consulting company with operations in Asia/Pacific Region. The interests I would represent are those of high-tech and Information Technology companies as well as those of the Internet community in this Region.

In 1998, I resigned from my position as government official and presently am not associated with any government departments or agencies.

I am a People's Delegate of the Shanghai Municipality Delegation to the National People's Congress. By way of background, a People's Delegate in China is not a member of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress and therefore is not considered a government official. Nonetheless, if ICANN so requires, I will resign as People's Delegate in due course. In this regard, I have submitted a letter to ICANN stating that if I am elected as an ICANN At-Large Director of this Region, I will immediately resign from the People's Delegation of the Shanghai Municipality of the National People's Congress.