The 13th session of Dehe TALK was held, focusing on legal risk prevention and control as well as practical frontiers in the construction industry

"Dehe Talk" is an important part of the 20th anniversary series of activities of Dehehantong Law Firm. It aims to conduct in-depth exchanges on cutting-edge theories and practical issues through forms such as special topic sharing and lawyer dialogues. On October 15, 2026, the 13th session of the "Dehe Talk" series of activities for the 20th anniversary of Dehe Hantong - a special seminar on Legal Risk Prevention and Control and Practical Frontiers in the Construction Industry: Intellectual Property, Judicial Interpretations and Employment Responsibilities was held. This event was organized by the Shanghai Construction Engineering and Infrastructure Business Committee of Dehehantong (hereinafter referred to as "Dehe Hantong Construction Committee"), with Sun Jie, a lawyer from the Shanghai office of Dehehantong, serving as the host. The participating lawyers and corporate legal departments engaged in in-depth discussions and exchanges on three practical aspects in the construction field: intellectual property rights, disputes over construction contracts, and risks of illegal subcontracting and transfer of labor.

Lawyer Cao Xiong, Deputy Secretary of the Committee of Shanghai DHHT Law Firm of the Communist Party of China and director of the Shanghai Construction Engineering and Infrastructure Business Committee of Dehehantong, delivered a welcoming speech. He introduced the recent professional construction achievements of the Dehehantong Construction Committee and stated that this sharing session connects intellectual property rights, judicial interpretations on construction projects, and labor laws with construction practice, which is a beneficial attempt to broaden the perspective of construction legal services. This year, the Construction Committee of Dehehantong has focused on the construction of professional achievements and the cultivation of talents. The completion of the "Selected Cases" reflects the accumulation of practical experience. The three senior lawyers who have newly joined Dehehantong took the stage to share their experiences, demonstrating the achievements in the construction of the professional talent team. Next, the Construction Engineering Committee of Dehehantong will continue to improve the professional exchange platform, deepen case studies and experience accumulation, and provide support for lawyers' continuous development in the field of construction engineering. This seminar features three major themes for sharing, respectively focusing on intellectual property disputes in construction, judicial interpretations of construction contracts, and the boundaries of employment risks.

Lecture one: Practical Analysis of Intellectual Property Disputes in the Construction Industry. Lawyer Fang Yan from the Shanghai office of Dehehantong, through typical cases, systematically sorts out the common types and liability boundaries of intellectual property disputes in the construction industry from four dimensions: trademarks, patents, trade secrets, and Copyrights. She focused on analyzing issues such as the use of business names and real estate project names, the procurement of infringing building materials under the turnkey model, the construction of patented components, the leakage of technical data, and the ownership of design results. She also elaborated on practical key points such as trademark classification layout, patent licensing scope, measures for protecting trade secrets, and the agreement on the ownership of commissioned creations. She suggested that enterprises enhance intellectual property search and layout, improve the terms of procurement, subcontracting and design contracts, properly retain R&D materials and handle personnel handover upon departure, and establish an intellectual property risk prevention and control system covering the entire project process.

Lecture Two: Special Interpretation of the "Judicial Interpretation (II) on Disputes over Construction Project Contracts" Lawyer Wei Yurong from the Shanghai Office of Dehehantong gave a special interpretation on the "Judicial Interpretation (II) on Disputes over Construction Project Contracts". She focused on elaborating on issues such as the rights relief of actual constructors, the priority right to project payment, the adjustment of fixed total prices, and the calculation of unfinished project payments, providing practical references for the handling of related disputes.

Lecture Three：Lawyer Meng Meicheng from the Shanghai office of Dehehantong has sorted out three handling paths: wage payment, the main responsibility of the employer, and the liability for personal injury of the labor provider, in the context of wage arrears, work-related injuries, and personal injury in cases of illegal subcontracting, transfer, and affiliation. It also analyzes issues such as the distinction between labor relations and the main responsibility of employment, the procedures for work-related injury determination, the protection of the rights and interests of workers over the age limit, and compensation and recovery, and puts forward suggestions for case handling and employment risk prevention and control from different perspectives of workers, construction parties and general contractors.

After the sharing session, the interactive discussion session began. The participants actively raised questions around practical difficulties such as the application of judicial interpretation provisions, the determination of project costs, the collection of intellectual property evidence, and the handover of technical data when personnel leave. The three keynote lawyers, drawing on their case-handling experience, analyzed each question one by one and provided solutions. The on-site communication atmosphere was lively, achieving a two-way collision between theory and practice.

This event sorts out the legal risks in construction projects in aspects such as the use of drawings, component procurement, bidding and tendering, and personnel management from three dimensions: intellectual property rights, construction contracts, and employment responsibilities. It also puts forward compliance suggestions based on typical cases, providing practical references for related legal services and enterprise risk prevention and control. In the future, the Shanghai Construction Engineering and Infrastructure Business Committee of Dehehantong will continue to focus on the cutting-edge issues and practical difficulties in the construction engineering field, persistently carry out professional exchanges, deepen case studies and experience sharing, and constantly enhance the legal service capabilities for construction engineering.