Zhichao (Kevin) Duan
Faculty profile

Zhichao (Kevin) Duan

Partner · Intellectual Property & Data Protection · Tech / Internet / AI
Han Kun Law Offices · Beijing

Beijing-based Partner at Han Kun Law Offices. Practice focuses on intellectual property and data protection, with particular expertise in tech-related legal matters across the Internet, AI, pharmaceutical, and medical device industries. Selected by the U.S. Federal Circuit Bar Association as one of 26 Global Fellows in 2019 — the only representative from China. Contributor of the China AI Note for PrinciplesAI.

Biography

Practice and focus

Kevin (Zhichao) Duan is a Partner at Han Kun Law Offices, based in Beijing. His practice focuses on intellectual property and data protection, with particular expertise in handling tech-related legal matters.

Mr. Duan has abundant experience in representing industry-leading tech companies in their complex IP disputes, IP transactions, and data-related legal matters in the Internet, AI, pharmaceutical, and medical device industries.

The U.S. Federal Circuit Bar Association selected Mr. Duan as one of its 26 Global Fellows in 2019, an honor conferred upon rising global leaders in the IP field, by recognising his distinctive capability in handling cross-border IP matters. Mr. Duan was the only representative from China in the 2019–20 Fellows program.

Before practicing law, Mr. Duan engaged in academic research for nearly ten years, producing more than ten peer-reviewed academic publications. He worked as an attorney-at-law and patent attorney at a leading IP law firm before joining Han Kun.

Practice areas

Areas of focus (Han Kun)

Intellectual Property Data Protection Compliance & Investigations IP Litigation & Disputes IP Transactions Internet & AI Pharmaceutical Medical Devices Cross-border IP matters Patent Prosecution
Career & recognition

From engineering research to IP/data law in Beijing

Kevin’s career bridges deep technical training with cross-border legal practice — an unusual combination that informs his work on AI, internet, pharmaceutical, and medical-device matters.

Current
Partner · Han Kun Law Offices
Beijing. Practice focused on IP, data protection, and tech-sector compliance for industry-leading clients.
2026
Contributor · PrinciplesAI China AI Note
Authored the eleven-section Part B narrative for China, covering the Generative AI Measures, Algorithm Recommendation Provisions, Deep Synthesis Provisions, AI Synthetic-Content Labelling, alongside the foundational PIPL/CSL/DSL stack. Law as at February 2026.
2019–20
Global Fellow · U.S. Federal Circuit Bar Association
One of 26 Global Fellows worldwide; the only representative from China. Honor conferred on rising global leaders in the IP field, recognising distinctive capability in handling cross-border IP matters.
Earlier
Attorney-at-law & patent attorney · leading IP law firm
Practiced as both attorney-at-law and patent attorney at a leading IP law firm before joining Han Kun.
Pre-law (~10 yrs)
Academic researcher · 10+ peer-reviewed publications
Nearly a decade of academic research before transitioning to law. Engineering grounding (USC Ph.D., Southeast University B.Eng.) underpins technical-IP and AI-systems practice.