This year, Asian Legal Business has spotlighted 15 IP practitioners across Asia who are recognised to have excelled in the increasingly strategic field. Through a solid track record, they have demonstrated themselves as reliable solution providers to their clients, formidable competitors to their peers, and creative pioneers to their followers. 

While the global dealmaking drought continues to whipsaw corporate and capital markets work, demand for intellectual property (IP)-related advisory has maintained a level of stability. This is partly due to the increased emphasis national governments put on data and IP rights in a world of growing protectionism and competition.

Pravin Anand, managing partner at India’s Anand and Anand, has spent decades transforming India’s IP landscape. His key IP clients include Nokia, Interdigital, and Tata. Described as “eminent” with an “illustrious career”, Anand has pioneered SEP litigation and landmark developments, including obtaining pro-tem security order, pressing for high accountability of intermediaries, promoting responsible use of AI, and enabling various marks of leading national and international brands to be declared as well-known.

Dr Mohan Dewan is the principal of R K Dewan & Co in India. His clients include Rishabh Plastic Products, Innovations Garment and Bajaj Auto. In addition, Dewan is a prolific inventor in his own right, having obtained and filed patents for more than 50 inventions. Dewan also regularly advises the Indian Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Information Technology, and other governmental institutions on IP matters.

Do Quang Hung, a partner at Hanoi-based Vision & Associates, specialises in trademark, IP rights enforcement and dispute settlement. Hung represents Singaporean fashion house Charles & Keith International to protect its house-mark and take actions against the distribution of counterfeit goods in Vietnam. Hung also secures the protection of the IP rights of Yahoo! against an infringer with the name “Yahooooo!!! Private Company” in Vietnam. His other clients include Bridgestone, Jack Daniel’s and Hewlett-Packard.

Over in Japan, Chie Kasahara is a senior partner at Atsumi & Sakai, leading the firm’s IP/IT team and advising many leading non-Japanese and Japanese corporations on protecting their IP rights in respect of cutting-edge technology. Serving as the director of Japan’s Entertainment Lawyers Network (ELN), Chie has also been named by ALB as one of Asia Super 50 TMT Lawyers in 2021 and 2022.

In Hong Kong, the co-leader of Mayer Brown’s IP practice, Gabriela Kennedy, maintains her market-leading position. She is highly sought-after for advising leading global brands and businesses on IP, media, IT, and telecommunications law as well as on data privacy and cyber-security issues. Kennedy is commended by her clients as having “deep knowledge and expertise in managing and advising on legal issues in connection with technology transactions” and is a “very personable and superbly capable lawyer”.

An expert in IP litigation and counselling, Jihyun Kim is a partner at South Korea’s Bae, Kim & Lee. She represents LG Ensol in the trade secret lawsuit against SK innovation and Starbucks Korea in a patent dispute over electronic receipt system. Kim has also advised Netflix regarding music licensing for its Korean service. LG Energy Solution, LVMH Cosmetics Korea, Kakao Entertainment and the Walt Disney Company (Korea) are amongst her key IP clients.

Hyeong Joo Lim, senior attorney at Yulchon, is also a well-known name in South Korea’s IP scene. In 2020, Lim successfully obtained a decision of guilty when representing Seoul Semiconductor in a case involving an accusation of infringement of trade secret by Everlight Electronics (Taiwan). Lim’s clients also include Samsung Electronics, Hyundai Motor Company and Daewoong Pharmaceutical. Apart from his IP expertise, his communication skills have also been widely praised by clients.

In Indonesia, Daru Lukiantono is a senior partner and the head of IP tech practice group at HHP Law Firm in association with Baker McKenzie. He was said to be “terrific” and “bring extensive anti-counterfeiting knowledge and excellent relations with border officials to the table”. He has also been recognised as a “good negotiator” with a “great reputation on the commercial side” of IP.

Dewi Kamaratih Soeharto heads the IP practice group at Jakarta-based Assegaf Hamzah & Partner. Among other cases, she is helping RWTH Aachen, Germany’s largest technical university, prepare a PCT patent application entering the national phase in Indonesia for an invention related to a parallel hybrid drive vehicle technology. Dewi also represents China Nuclear Power Engineering, PT Tirta Investama and Lionsgate Entertainment. Dewi used to run her own IP boutique in Indonesia in the early days of her career.   

Over to Singapore, Lorraine Tay leads Bird & Bird’s IP practice there and has always been an active and highly engaged member of the IP community, not only locally. She is adept at working through local specific issues but equally well placed to assist clients in taking advantage of the international treatises as well. Binance, National Technological University and Maxeon Technologies are among her new clients in the past 12 months.

Annie Tsoi in Hong Kong is the co-head of Deacons’ IP department. She also heads the firm’s China IP practice group. Tsoi’s clients include a U.S.-based multinational entertainment company, a Hong Kong-based multinational hotel group and one of the wealthiest families in Asia. Market watchers credit Tsoi for her “experience”, “patience”, “professionalism”, and “informative presentations”, which point out all the challenges and weaknesses clients have within their trademark matters, and what improvements they could make.”

Darani Vachanavuttivong is the managing partner and IP managing director of Tilleke & Gibbins in Thailand. Darani regularly pioneers new methods for securing IP rights in Southeast Asia. Darani also successfully represented Formula One (F1) Group in a rare cross-class trademark opposition against a potential infringer in Thailand in one of her most recent wins.

In Malaysia, Linda Wang is a senior partner at LindaWang Su & Boo (a member of ZICO IP). With more than 30 years of experience in IP litigation, Wang leads her team in advising, handling, and managing the patent, trademark, and design portfolios of the Smart Glove Group of Companies, including attending to freedom-to-operate (FTO), validity, enforcement and infringement issues. She also represents KLK Companies, Nestle, and Honda Motor.

Chie Yakura is a partner at Morrison Foerster’s Tokyo office with specialities ranging from patent litigation to compliance and regulatory investigations. Among other cases, Chie is representing Rakuten Mobile and its affiliates in patent license negotiations against owners of some of the largest portfolios of telecommunications patents in the world. Most of Chie’s clients are large multinationals with whom she has long-standing relationships, including Toshiba.

As managing director of Drew & Napier’s IP practice, Tony Yeo continues to cement his reputation in Singapore’s IP space. In the past 12 months, Yeo has successfully defended an industry leader in state-of-the-art lab-grown diamond technology in a patent infringement suit. He has also helped key clients, including Huawei, in securing victories recently. Yeo has been hailed as “a very confident individual who always stays on top of the situation” by one of his clients.