GENEVA—A Chinese lawyer is one of two Asian favorites to head the world patent office, a post that would give Beijing its fifth UN leadership role and, according to its critics, an unprecedented level of influence over new technologies.
Voting opened on Mar. 4 at the 193-member Geneva-based World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), which shapes global rules for intellectual property and oversees a patent system in which China and its firms, like telecoms giant Huawei Technologies, have a growing stake.
