This annual ranking spotlights the top 15 IP lawyers across Asia, who have consistently delivered high-quality IP work and set high standards in the IP space, while earning accolades from their colleagues, superiors, and clients.
Can you talk about your notable IP work in the past year?
I am currently representing IIa Technologies Pte Ltd in a patent infringement and patent invalidation matter before the Singapore Court of Appeal. The matter is now pending the Singapore Court of Appeal’s decision. This matter has garnered a lot of interest as it concerns many aspects of Patent law and laboratory-grown diamond technology which requires an understanding of material sciences, physics, chemistry and mathematics. I am also representing Novartis AG in a patent infringement matter before the Singapore High Court involving medications for heart failure and high blood pressure. I also represented Tanaka Electronics Singapore (Pte) Ltd in a patent infringement matter involving the technology for bonding wires used in semiconductors. The matter involved several Japanese companies and their subsidiaries with cross-border court proceedings in Japan, China and Taiwan besides Singapore. The complex and interesting technologies involved in each of these matters which we have to juggle with the applicable IP laws, keep me and my team excited about the work we do every day. It differentiates IP litigation from other forms of litigation. Some people love it. Some hate it. It is obvious where I lean.
What are some recent IP trends/developments that clients should be mindful of?
There have been so many changes in the IP landscape in Singapore in the last year which have left IP lawyers in Singapore breathless. This is not new as technologies are constantly changing, so must the law to catch up with the changes. If the law does not catch up, it is the users of such technologies who will suffer because of the lacunae.
Together with changes to a number of IP statutes, a “Simplified Process” was also introduced in our Singapore court for simpler IP matters to be placed on a fast and cheaper track for more expeditious resolutions of such IP matters. The biggest change in 2021/2022 however, has to be to the Copyright Act 2021 which came into force on 21 November 2021. This is a total rewrite and not a “face-lift”. This is the first such major amendment since the Copyright Act 1987. The changes in the Copyright Act 2021 are too many to set out but suffice to say that it has fundamentally changed some aspects of copyright law in Singapore.
What attributes do today’s clients look for in their IP lawyers?
Today’s clients still look for the same qualities in their lawyers as they would when I first started practice 30 years ago. They want their lawyers to explain their matters to them clearly and to respond to their questions expeditiously. They want their lawyers to find solutions for them and to be frank with them when there is none. They want their lawyers to argue their matters fearlessly in court and yet know where the boundaries are. The significant differences which today’s clients look for in their IP lawyers are the IP lawyers’ ability to keep up to date with and to understand the latest technologies as well as to understand the ever-changing IP landscape and IP laws and to apply these changes to the clients’ advantage.
