GlobalAutoIndustry.com’s latest Audio Interview “Why and How to Protect your Intellectual Property Internationally” features Fred Rocafort. Mr. Rocafort leads Harris Bricken’s intellectual property practice and is the coordinator of the firm’s international team. He is dedicated to helping businesses from around the world and across industries protect their brands as they grow. Prior to joining Harris Bricken, Fred worked in China for more than a decade, in both government and private sector roles. In addition to his IP work, Fred advises clients doing business overseas on corporate matters, leveraging his proficiency in Spanish and Chinese.
Audio Interview Guest
Mr. Fred Rocafort, Attorney
Harris Bricken
In the 16-minute Audio Interview, Mr. Rocafort discusses these questions:
• Why is it important to protect your intellectual property internationally?
• For a company that is just beginning to look at protecting its intellectual property internationally, what are the first steps it should take?
• What are some common challenges businesses face when protecting their intellectual property internationally?
• To what extent, if any, can intellectual property that has been registered in the U.S. help with international protection?
About Fred Rocafort:
Attorney with Harris Bricken
Fred leads Harris Bricken’s intellectual property practice and is the coordinator of the firm’s international team. He is dedicated to helping businesses from around the world and across industries protect their brands as they grow. Many of Fred’s clients operate in spaces that constitute new frontiers for IP law, such as cannabis, psychedelics, and Web3. Prior to joining Harris Bricken, Fred worked in China for more than a decade, in both government and private sector roles. He is a regular commentator on brand protection matters and serves as an expert witness on IP-related cases.
Fred began his career overseas as a U.S. consular officer in Guangzhou, where he advocated for fairer treatment of American companies and citizens in China and for stronger intellectual property rights enforcement. After entering the private sector, Fred worked at a Shanghai law firm as a foreign legal advisor and later joined one of the oldest American law firms in China, helping foreign companies navigate the Chinese legal environment. He also led the legal team at a Hong Kong-based brand protection consultancy, spending most of his time out in the field, protecting clients against counterfeiters and fraudsters, and helping secure their R&D and manufacturing facilities in Greater China, Southeast Asia, and Latin America.
In addition to his IP work, Fred advises clients doing business overseas on corporate matters, leveraging his proficiency in Spanish and Chinese. On any given day, Fred will guide clients as they set up an S. de R.L. in Mexico, explore opportunities in Thailand’s budding cannabis market, vet potential business partner in Brazil, negotiate manufacturing agreements with suppliers in Colombia, and take down infringing listings from e-commerce sites in China.
Fred is an ardent supporter of FC Barcelona—and would be even in the absence of Catalan forebears who immigrated to Puerto Rico in the mid-1800s.