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12th Developments in IP Law Series (Patents, Copyright, Breach of Confidence / Privacy and Data Protection, Trade Marks / Passing Off)
Stay current on the latest IP law developments in Singapore and the UK with this flagship programme for IP professionals. Where relevant, developments in the EU, US, and Australia are also discussed in this series, which typically runs in the first quarter of the year.
Get important updates on the four main domains of IP in four half-day sessions across January and February 2025: Copyright, Patents, Trade Marks / Passing Off and Breach of Confidence / Privacy and Data Protection.
Like its previous sell-out editions, this 12th edition returns with a line-up of prestigious speakers, comprising distinguished academics, experienced practitioners, industry representatives, and representatives from the public sector. Anyone with an interest in IP will benefit greatly from this programme.
Learning Objectives
Participants will be kept updated with latest developments on the four main domains of IP in four half-day sessions on:
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Speakers
Dr Cai holds a PhD in signal processing and communication from Nanyang Technical University of Singapore. She is currently a Senior Patent Examiner and a Group Leader at IPOS International, with extensive experience in patent search and examination for over a decade. Her responsibilities extend beyond examination to overseeing the quality of deliverables and mentoring new examiners. Dr Cai was practice lead in telecommunication standards search and Chinese prior art search in Information Communication Technology (ICT) division. She was also involved in several Standard Essential Patent (SEP) related projects.
Prior to joining IPOS International, Dr Cai worked at Panasonic as an in-house patent professional, specializing in the telecommunication sector. Her experience encompasses a broad range of patent-related services, such as WCDMA patent pool applications, 3G/4G SEP studies and infringement analysis.
Dr Cai is also a qualified Chinese patent agent and certified intangible asset management specialist.
Speakers
Gavin is the Head of the Copyright Unit and Principal Legal Counsel in the Legal Department of the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS). He graduated from the National University of Singapore, Faculty of Law, and practised law as an intellectual property and commercial litigator before joining IPOS. In his current capacity, Gavin leads the Copyright Unit in developing and reviewing Singapore’s copyright policy and laws, advising the Singapore Government on copyright affairs, and overseeing the regulation of collective management organisations in Singapore. He served as a lead member of the Ministry-of-Law and IPOS taskforce that undertook Singapore’s largest policy and law reform project on copyright, which culminated in the Copyright Act 2021. Gavin has represented Singapore on intellectual property matters at international forums, including the WIPO Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights and in dispute settlement proceedings before the WTO Appellate Body. His articles on intellectual property have been featured in both domestic and international publications.
Speakers
Francis is Deputy Director (Policy) at the Personal Data Protection Commission (PDPC) and is also a member of the Singapore Legal Service. He is experienced in data protection laws and regulations for both public and private sectors. In 2019, he represented the Attorney-General’s Chambers to support the Public Sector Data Security Review Committee, which was convened to comprehensively review data security practices across the public sector, including measures and processes related to the collection and protection of citizens’ personal data. He has also advised the Ministry of Education on a wide range of data protection issues pertaining to both government and non-government schools.
At the PDPC, Francis leads the Policy team, which develops and refines data protection policies and cross-border data flow strategies to support data sharing across the economy and across borders.
Speakers
Gabriel serves as Principal Legal Counsel and tribunal hearing officer (Principal Assistant Registrar) for disputes that come under the jurisdiction of the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS). His core portfolio at IPOS involves policy work in relation to promoting and furthering Singapore’s attractiveness as a hub for IP / Tech dispute resolution, as well as contributing to legislative reform in this connection. Prior to joining IPOS, Gabriel spent five years practising in the field of IP litigation at one of the top law practices in Singapore. Gabriel is also an adjunct Assistant Professor with the National University of Singapore law faculty (since 2021) where he co-taught the “Foundations of IP Law” module (from 2020-2024) and the “IP Arbitration” module (2022-present).
Speakers
David Llewelyn is a practising lawyer, academic and arbitrator. He is Managing Director of David Llewelyn & Co LLC; Professor (Practice) at Singapore Management University’s Yong Pung How School of Law and Professor of Intellectual Property Law at King’s College London; and sits as an arbitrator in international commercial disputes.
David is joint author of Kerly's Law of Trade Marks & Trade Names (17th ed., 2024) and Cornish, Llewelyn & Aplin: Intellectual Property (10th ed., 2023), as well as Modern Law of Copyright in Singapore (2023) and Cases, Materials and Commentary on Singapore Intellectual Property Law (2018). He also wrote the business book Invisible Gold in Asia: Creating Wealth through Intellectual Property (2010). He is an IP Adjudicator at the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore and has been appointed by the Singapore Court of Appeal as amicus curiae/independent counsel in cases involving trade marks, copyright, patents and geographical indications.
Speakers
He was the founding and Managing Partner of a boutique IP firm and retired from the firm in April 2023. He has over 40 years of experience in intellectual property and commercial law.
He has represented clients in various industries including life sciences, technology, publishing, hospitality and travel in all aspects of commercial matters including setting up of businesses, intellectual property strategy, franchising and licensing and dispute issues.
He has been lead counsel in complex patent litigation and other contentious IP-related cases, and have been involved in a number of high profile and precedent setting IP cases before the Singapore Court of Appeal and the Patent Office, as well as handling multi-jurisdictional IP litigation
He has been ranked as a leading intellectual property lawyer by Asia Pacific Legal 500, IAM Patent 1000, Chambers Asia Pacific and IPAsia for many consecutive years. He is also a panel member of the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Centre, Asian Domain Name Dispute Resolution Centre; a Certified Mediator with the Singapore International Mediation Centre (SIMC) and Singapore International Mediation Institute (SIMI)
He had written many articles and authored several publications including the patents and registered deigns section of the Halsbury Law Singapore, Intellectual Property Vol 13.
Speakers
Professor David Tan holds a PhD from Melbourne Law School, a LLM from Harvard, and graduated with a LLB (First Class Honours)/BCom from the University of Melbourne. He has taught courses at Melbourne Law School, King's College London, Tsinghua University, University of Tokyo and University of Hong Kong. David was formerly with the Singapore Administrative Service, serving as Director of Sports at Ministry of Community Development, Youth & Sports (MCYS) and Director of International Talent at Ministry of Manpower (MOM). In the area of law, he has published in a diverse range of journals such as the Yale Journal of International Law, Harvard Journal of Sports & Entertainment Law, Law Quarterly Review, Media & Arts Law Review, Singapore Journal of Legal Studies, and Australian Intellectual Property Journal. In 2017, David published his monograph The Commercial Appropriation of Fame: A Cultural Analysis of the Right of Publicity & Passing Off on celebrity personality rights published by Cambridge University Press. His more recent writings are focused on issues relating to generative AI and copyright law. Since joining NUS Law in 2008, he has published over 100 articles, book chapters and case comments, and his works have been cited on numerous occasions by the Supreme Court of Singapore.
Speakers
Benjamin is a Lecturer with the NUS Faculty of Law, and an Advocate & Solicitor in Singapore. His research interests include data protection law and the law of confidence. Prior to his current appointment, Benjamin was a Research Assistant with the EW Barker Centre for Law & Business, where he conducted research on intellectual property law. During his stint in Drew & Napier LLC, he worked in the fields of competition law and data protection law, among other areas of regulatory practice.
Speakers
He studied Jurisprudence at Oxford University from 1968-1971 and received the degree of MA (Hons). He was called to the Bar of England and Wales by the Honourable Society of The Inner Temple in 1972 and then began practice at the Intellectual Property Bar. He was appointed King’s Counsel in 1989. Justice Thorley has more than 40 years of experience in Intellectual Property and related law, and was a leading practitioner in that field until he ceased practice in 2014. He was a Deputy High Court Judge in England and Wales and was also the Deputy Chairman of the Copyright Tribunal in the United Kingdom for eight years. He was a co-editor of the 13th-15th Editions of Terrell on the Law of Patents, a standard work of reference on UK patent law. Justice Thorley served as Treasurer of the Inner Temple in 2013.
Speakers
Professor David Tan holds a PhD from Melbourne Law School, a LLM from Harvard, and graduated with a LLB (First Class Honours)/BCom from the University of Melbourne. He has taught courses at Melbourne Law School, King's College London, Tsinghua University, University of Tokyo and University of Hong Kong. David was formerly with the Singapore Administrative Service, serving as Director of Sports at Ministry of Community Development, Youth & Sports (MCYS) and Director of International Talent at Ministry of Manpower (MOM). In the area of law, he has published in a diverse range of journals such as the Yale Journal of International Law, Harvard Journal of Sports & Entertainment Law, Law Quarterly Review, Media & Arts Law Review, Singapore Journal of Legal Studies, and Australian Intellectual Property Journal. In 2017, David published his monograph The Commercial Appropriation of Fame: A Cultural Analysis of the Right of Publicity & Passing Off on celebrity personality rights published by Cambridge University Press. His more recent writings are focused on issues relating to generative AI and copyright law. Since joining NUS Law in 2008, he has published over 100 articles, book chapters and case comments, and his works have been cited on numerous occasions by the Supreme Court of Singapore.
Speakers
He studied Jurisprudence at Oxford University from 1968-1971 and received the degree of MA (Hons). He was called to the Bar of England and Wales by the Honourable Society of The Inner Temple in 1972 and then began practice at the Intellectual Property Bar. He was appointed King’s Counsel in 1989. Justice Thorley has more than 40 years of experience in Intellectual Property and related law, and was a leading practitioner in that field until he ceased practice in 2014. He was a Deputy High Court Judge in England and Wales and was also the Deputy Chairman of the Copyright Tribunal in the United Kingdom for eight years. He was a co-editor of the 13th-15th Editions of Terrell on the Law of Patents, a standard work of reference on UK patent law. Justice Thorley served as Treasurer of the Inner Temple in 2013.
Speakers
Martin Senftleben is Professor of Intellectual Property Law and Director, Institute for Information Law (IViR), University of Amsterdam. His activities focus on the reconciliation of private intellectual property rights with competing public interests of a social, cultural or economic nature. Current research topics include AI training and text and data mining; machine substitution of human creative labour and author remuneration; data property and internet of things; open science and digital sovereignty of researchers; platform and digital ecosystem regulation; copyright data improvement and content recommender systems; quality journalism and the economic viability of public interest media; behavioural advertising and consumer empowerment.
Professor Senftleben is a member of the Benelux Council for Intellectual Property and a former member of the Copyright Advisory Committee of the Dutch State. He provided advice to WIPO in copyright, trademark and unfair competition projects. For the European Commission, he prepared a study on data access and reuse. He is President of the Trademark Law Institute (TLI), a member and former President of the European Copyright Society (ECS) and a member of the Executive Committee of the Association littéraire et artistique internationale (ALAI). As a visiting professor, he was invited to the National University of Singapore, the Engelberg Center at NYU Law School, the Oxford Intellectual Property Research Centre, Tel Aviv University and the Intellectual Property Research Institute of Xiamen University. His numerous publications include Copyright, Limitations and the Three-Step Test (2004), European Trade Mark Law – A Commentary (with Annette Kur, 2017) and The Copyright/Trademark Interface (2020). As a guest lecturer, he provides courses at the Centre for International Intellectual Property Studies (CEIPI), Strasbourg, the Munich Intellectual Property Law Center (MIPLC) and the Jagiellonian University Krakow.
Speakers
Tanya Aplin is a Professor of Intellectual Property Law at the Dickson Poon School of Law, King’s College London. Her publications include: Copyright law in the digital society: the challenges of multimedia (Hart, 2005), Intellectual Property: Patents, Copyright, Trade Marks and Allied Rights 7th, 8th, 9th and 10th eds (Sweet & Maxwell, 2010, 2013, 2019, 2023) (with Prof. Cornish and Prof. Llewelyn), Intellectual Property Law: Text, Cases and Materials 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th eds (OUP, 2009, 2013, 2016, 2021) (with Dr Davis), Gurry on Breach of Confidence: The Protection of Confidential Information (OUP, 2012) (with Prof. Bently, Dr Johnson and Mr Malynicz) and Global Mandatory Fair Use: The Nature and Scope of the Right to Quote Copyright Works (CUP 2020) (with Prof. Bently). At King’s, she teaches courses on international and comparative copyright law and European and UK patent and trade secrets law.
Speakers
Mr Justice Mellor became a Judge in the High Court of England & Wales, assigned to the Chancery Division, in February 2021, after a long career as an IP barrister at the leading IP set at 8, New Square in Lincoln’s Inn, where latterly he was Head of Chambers.
James was called to the Bar of England & Wales in 1986, having emerged from two periods at King’s College, Cambridge studying Engineering and then Law (1st). As an engineer he worked in the UK and in many countries abroad. James had a wide-ranging practice covering all areas of IP but also contract cases with an IP or technical element. He had significant experience in the CJEU and some in General Court proceedings, in references or appeals relating to trade marks and copyright. He has spoken on trade marks to audiences in Singapore on several occasions.
Speakers
Matthew is a partner with the firm Marks & Clerk Singapore LLP. He is a Singapore registered patent agent, and an Australian patent & trade mark attorney. Matthew is primarily involved with the drafting and prosecution of patent applications in various areas of technology, including semiconductor production systems, process engineering and control systems for manufacturing.
Matthew has experience in litigation matters in Singapore and Australia, including regularly appearing as an expert witness for validity and infringement issues before the IP Court of Malaya.
Matthew holds a Bachelor of Engineering and an MBA from the University of Adelaide.
Matthew moved to Singapore in 2004 and, prior to entering the profession, worked in both corporate and university-based research and development organisations.
Dr Cai holds a PhD in signal processing and communication from Nanyang Technical University of Singapore. She is currently a Senior Patent Examiner and a Group Leader at IPOS International, with extensive experience in patent search and examination for over a decade. Her responsibilities extend beyond examination to overseeing the quality of deliverables and mentoring new examiners. Dr Cai was practice lead in telecommunication standards search and Chinese prior art search in Information Communication Technology (ICT) division. She was also involved in several Standard Essential Patent (SEP) related projects.
Prior to joining IPOS International, Dr Cai worked at Panasonic as an in-house patent professional, specializing in the telecommunication sector. Her experience encompasses a broad range of patent-related services, such as WCDMA patent pool applications, 3G/4G SEP studies and infringement analysis.
Dr Cai is also a qualified Chinese patent agent and certified intangible asset management specialist.
He was the founding and Managing Partner of a boutique IP firm and retired from the firm in April 2023. He has over 40 years of experience in intellectual property and commercial law.
He has represented clients in various industries including life sciences, technology, publishing, hospitality and travel in all aspects of commercial matters including setting up of businesses, intellectual property strategy, franchising and licensing and dispute issues.
He has been lead counsel in complex patent litigation and other contentious IP-related cases, and have been involved in a number of high profile and precedent setting IP cases before the Singapore Court of Appeal and the Patent Office, as well as handling multi-jurisdictional IP litigation
He has been ranked as a leading intellectual property lawyer by Asia Pacific Legal 500, IAM Patent 1000, Chambers Asia Pacific and IPAsia for many consecutive years. He is also a panel member of the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Centre, Asian Domain Name Dispute Resolution Centre; a Certified Mediator with the Singapore International Mediation Centre (SIMC) and Singapore International Mediation Institute (SIMI)
He had written many articles and authored several publications including the patents and registered deigns section of the Halsbury Law Singapore, Intellectual Property Vol 13.
He studied Jurisprudence at Oxford University from 1968-1971 and received the degree of MA (Hons). He was called to the Bar of England and Wales by the Honourable Society of The Inner Temple in 1972 and then began practice at the Intellectual Property Bar. He was appointed King’s Counsel in 1989. Justice Thorley has more than 40 years of experience in Intellectual Property and related law, and was a leading practitioner in that field until he ceased practice in 2014. He was a Deputy High Court Judge in England and Wales and was also the Deputy Chairman of the Copyright Tribunal in the United Kingdom for eight years. He was a co-editor of the 13th-15th Editions of Terrell on the Law of Patents, a standard work of reference on UK patent law. Justice Thorley served as Treasurer of the Inner Temple in 2013.
Speakers
Ronald JJ Wong is the Deputy Managing Director of Covenant Chambers LLC. He handles contentious and non-contentious technology, media, corporate, commercial, competition, data privacy, and IP-related matters, including IP registration, licensing and portfolio management. He has advised FinTech, MedTech, software, AI, blockchain, and digital asset companies, engineering companies, educational institutions, trade mark owners, and advertising agencies.
He has been recognised as Asian Legal Business (ALB) Asia Super 50 TMT Lawyer 2024, Asian Legal Business (ALB) Rising Star 2023, Asia Business Law Journal 2019, A-List Singapore’s Top 100 Lawyers. The firm’s TMT practice has been recognised in The Legal 500 Asia Pacific 2022 and Asialaw Profiles 2023.
He is also an accredited mediator and serves on the Singapore Academy of Law Subcommittee on Artificial Intelligence and Robotics.
Gavin is the Head of the Copyright Unit and Principal Legal Counsel in the Legal Department of the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS). He graduated from the National University of Singapore, Faculty of Law, and practised law as an intellectual property and commercial litigator before joining IPOS. In his current capacity, Gavin leads the Copyright Unit in developing and reviewing Singapore’s copyright policy and laws, advising the Singapore Government on copyright affairs, and overseeing the regulation of collective management organisations in Singapore. He served as a lead member of the Ministry-of-Law and IPOS taskforce that undertook Singapore’s largest policy and law reform project on copyright, which culminated in the Copyright Act 2021. Gavin has represented Singapore on intellectual property matters at international forums, including the WIPO Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights and in dispute settlement proceedings before the WTO Appellate Body. His articles on intellectual property have been featured in both domestic and international publications.
Martin Senftleben is Professor of Intellectual Property Law and Director, Institute for Information Law (IViR), University of Amsterdam. His activities focus on the reconciliation of private intellectual property rights with competing public interests of a social, cultural or economic nature. Current research topics include AI training and text and data mining; machine substitution of human creative labour and author remuneration; data property and internet of things; open science and digital sovereignty of researchers; platform and digital ecosystem regulation; copyright data improvement and content recommender systems; quality journalism and the economic viability of public interest media; behavioural advertising and consumer empowerment.
Professor Senftleben is a member of the Benelux Council for Intellectual Property and a former member of the Copyright Advisory Committee of the Dutch State. He provided advice to WIPO in copyright, trademark and unfair competition projects. For the European Commission, he prepared a study on data access and reuse. He is President of the Trademark Law Institute (TLI), a member and former President of the European Copyright Society (ECS) and a member of the Executive Committee of the Association littéraire et artistique internationale (ALAI). As a visiting professor, he was invited to the National University of Singapore, the Engelberg Center at NYU Law School, the Oxford Intellectual Property Research Centre, Tel Aviv University and the Intellectual Property Research Institute of Xiamen University. His numerous publications include Copyright, Limitations and the Three-Step Test (2004), European Trade Mark Law – A Commentary (with Annette Kur, 2017) and The Copyright/Trademark Interface (2020). As a guest lecturer, he provides courses at the Centre for International Intellectual Property Studies (CEIPI), Strasbourg, the Munich Intellectual Property Law Center (MIPLC) and the Jagiellonian University Krakow.
Professor David Tan holds a PhD from Melbourne Law School, a LLM from Harvard, and graduated with a LLB (First Class Honours)/BCom from the University of Melbourne. He has taught courses at Melbourne Law School, King's College London, Tsinghua University, University of Tokyo and University of Hong Kong. David was formerly with the Singapore Administrative Service, serving as Director of Sports at Ministry of Community Development, Youth & Sports (MCYS) and Director of International Talent at Ministry of Manpower (MOM). In the area of law, he has published in a diverse range of journals such as the Yale Journal of International Law, Harvard Journal of Sports & Entertainment Law, Law Quarterly Review, Media & Arts Law Review, Singapore Journal of Legal Studies, and Australian Intellectual Property Journal. In 2017, David published his monograph The Commercial Appropriation of Fame: A Cultural Analysis of the Right of Publicity & Passing Off on celebrity personality rights published by Cambridge University Press. His more recent writings are focused on issues relating to generative AI and copyright law. Since joining NUS Law in 2008, he has published over 100 articles, book chapters and case comments, and his works have been cited on numerous occasions by the Supreme Court of Singapore.
Speakers
Jeremiah is an intellectual property, technology and competition lawyer with Ascendant Legal LLC, Norton Rose Fulbright’s Formal Law Alliance partner in Singapore. He advises clients on both contentious and non-contentious matters, and his practice includes regulatory and transactional work in the technology sector, IP registration and licensing matters, and domestic and international IP portfolio management. He has also acted for clients at all levels of the Singapore courts, and represented clients in contentious proceedings before the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore and the Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore.
As part of his practice, Jeremiah regularly advises clients on data privacy issues. His work in this area includes conducting multi-jurisdictional compliance reviews, developing and refining in-house policies and processes, conducting training for C-suite executives and other senior employees, notifying and responding to requests from regulators, and coordinating corrective action following data breaches.
Jeremiah graduated from the National University of Singapore in 2010, where he was placed on the Dean’s List. Prior to joining the firm, he practised in the intellectual property practice of a leading local firm under a Senior Counsel.
Justice Andre Maniam is a Judge on the High Court’s Intellectual Property List. He was appointed Judicial Commissioner on 4 May 2020 and High Court Judge on 1 November 2021.
He graduated with LLB (Honours) from the National University of Singapore and was awarded the Adrian Clark Memorial Medal for being the top law student for his year.
Before joining the bench, Justice Maniam had almost 30 years of experience as a lawyer, with the last 10 years as a Senior Counsel with a practice covering a wide range of subject areas in various modes of dispute resolution including litigation, arbitration, and mediation. Justice Maniam was on the panels of various arbitral institutes. He was also on the Singapore International Mediation Centre’s panel of specialist mediators. He is the co-chair of the Singapore Academy of Law’s Professional Affairs & Membership Committee.
Justice Maniam previously headed the Litigation & Dispute Resolution Group at WongPartnership LLP.
Francis is Deputy Director (Policy) at the Personal Data Protection Commission (PDPC) and is also a member of the Singapore Legal Service. He is experienced in data protection laws and regulations for both public and private sectors. In 2019, he represented the Attorney-General’s Chambers to support the Public Sector Data Security Review Committee, which was convened to comprehensively review data security practices across the public sector, including measures and processes related to the collection and protection of citizens’ personal data. He has also advised the Ministry of Education on a wide range of data protection issues pertaining to both government and non-government schools.
At the PDPC, Francis leads the Policy team, which develops and refines data protection policies and cross-border data flow strategies to support data sharing across the economy and across borders.
Benjamin is a Lecturer with the NUS Faculty of Law, and an Advocate & Solicitor in Singapore. His research interests include data protection law and the law of confidence. Prior to his current appointment, Benjamin was a Research Assistant with the EW Barker Centre for Law & Business, where he conducted research on intellectual property law. During his stint in Drew & Napier LLC, he worked in the fields of competition law and data protection law, among other areas of regulatory practice.
Tanya Aplin is a Professor of Intellectual Property Law at the Dickson Poon School of Law, King’s College London. Her publications include: Copyright law in the digital society: the challenges of multimedia (Hart, 2005), Intellectual Property: Patents, Copyright, Trade Marks and Allied Rights 7th, 8th, 9th and 10th eds (Sweet & Maxwell, 2010, 2013, 2019, 2023) (with Prof. Cornish and Prof. Llewelyn), Intellectual Property Law: Text, Cases and Materials 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th eds (OUP, 2009, 2013, 2016, 2021) (with Dr Davis), Gurry on Breach of Confidence: The Protection of Confidential Information (OUP, 2012) (with Prof. Bently, Dr Johnson and Mr Malynicz) and Global Mandatory Fair Use: The Nature and Scope of the Right to Quote Copyright Works (CUP 2020) (with Prof. Bently). At King’s, she teaches courses on international and comparative copyright law and European and UK patent and trade secrets law.
Speakers
Melvin is a Director of Amica Law LLC and his legal practice primarily focuses on IP litigation and enforcement, managing the trade mark portfolios for both local and international clients as well as handling and advising on pharmaceutical regulatory compliance and the patent linkage process in Singapore.
Melvin regularly advises and represents locally listed corporations as well as Fortune 500 companies, including Starbucks and Amazon in the end-to-end protection of their brand and trade mark portfolios. This includes managing the prosecution of their trade marks, handling infringement, opposition and invalidation actions at both the Registry and Court-levels, as well as devising and executing anti-counterfeiting and enforcement strategies.
Melvin also has extensive experience in the field of trade mark and patent litigation and has advised and acted for clients across diverse fields, ranging from representing an Italian manufacturer of porcelain stoneware tiles in a trade mark opposition action before the Court of Appeal - the highest court in Singapore - to acting for a De Beers subsidiary in relation to one of the largest patent infringement suits in Singapore to date for the manufacture and sale of synthetic diamonds.
Melvin also has a strong pharmacological advisory and litigation practice and has advised and acted for listed pharmaceuticals such as Sanofi-Aventis, Pfizer, Sun Pharmaceuticals and Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories in local regulatory as well as patent linkage and infringement proceedings.
Justice Dedar Singh Gill was appointed Judicial Commissioner of the Supreme Court on 1 August 2018 and High Court Judge on 1 August 2020.
Justice Gill graduated with a Bachelor of Laws (2nd Class Upper Honours) from the National University of Singapore in 1983.
Justice Gill last held the position of Managing Director of the Intellectual Property Department at Messrs. Drew and Napier LLC. He had appeared as counsel before the High Court and Court of Appeal for major corporate clients and had established a considerable reputation for his expertise and experience in intellectual property law.
Justice Gill was appointed by Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon to manage the Intellectual Property (IP) list of the High Court and implement the recommendations submitted by the IP Dispute Resolution Framework Review Committee to review the Intellectual Property dispute resolution system in Singapore. In addition to hearing IP cases, Justice Gill also hears cases pertaining to contract, tort and negligence.
Gabriel serves as Principal Legal Counsel and tribunal hearing officer (Principal Assistant Registrar) for disputes that come under the jurisdiction of the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS). His core portfolio at IPOS involves policy work in relation to promoting and furthering Singapore’s attractiveness as a hub for IP / Tech dispute resolution, as well as contributing to legislative reform in this connection. Prior to joining IPOS, Gabriel spent five years practising in the field of IP litigation at one of the top law practices in Singapore. Gabriel is also an adjunct Assistant Professor with the National University of Singapore law faculty (since 2021) where he co-taught the “Foundations of IP Law” module (from 2020-2024) and the “IP Arbitration” module (2022-present).
David Llewelyn is a practising lawyer, academic and arbitrator. He is Managing Director of David Llewelyn & Co LLC; Professor (Practice) at Singapore Management University’s Yong Pung How School of Law and Professor of Intellectual Property Law at King’s College London; and sits as an arbitrator in international commercial disputes.
David is joint author of Kerly's Law of Trade Marks & Trade Names (17th ed., 2024) and Cornish, Llewelyn & Aplin: Intellectual Property (10th ed., 2023), as well as Modern Law of Copyright in Singapore (2023) and Cases, Materials and Commentary on Singapore Intellectual Property Law (2018). He also wrote the business book Invisible Gold in Asia: Creating Wealth through Intellectual Property (2010). He is an IP Adjudicator at the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore and has been appointed by the Singapore Court of Appeal as amicus curiae/independent counsel in cases involving trade marks, copyright, patents and geographical indications.
Professor David Tan holds a PhD from Melbourne Law School, a LLM from Harvard, and graduated with a LLB (First Class Honours)/BCom from the University of Melbourne. He has taught courses at Melbourne Law School, King's College London, Tsinghua University, University of Tokyo and University of Hong Kong. David was formerly with the Singapore Administrative Service, serving as Director of Sports at Ministry of Community Development, Youth & Sports (MCYS) and Director of International Talent at Ministry of Manpower (MOM). In the area of law, he has published in a diverse range of journals such as the Yale Journal of International Law, Harvard Journal of Sports & Entertainment Law, Law Quarterly Review, Media & Arts Law Review, Singapore Journal of Legal Studies, and Australian Intellectual Property Journal. In 2017, David published his monograph The Commercial Appropriation of Fame: A Cultural Analysis of the Right of Publicity & Passing Off on celebrity personality rights published by Cambridge University Press. His more recent writings are focused on issues relating to generative AI and copyright law. Since joining NUS Law in 2008, he has published over 100 articles, book chapters and case comments, and his works have been cited on numerous occasions by the Supreme Court of Singapore.
Mr Justice Mellor became a Judge in the High Court of England & Wales, assigned to the Chancery Division, in February 2021, after a long career as an IP barrister at the leading IP set at 8, New Square in Lincoln’s Inn, where latterly he was Head of Chambers.
James was called to the Bar of England & Wales in 1986, having emerged from two periods at King’s College, Cambridge studying Engineering and then Law (1st). As an engineer he worked in the UK and in many countries abroad. James had a wide-ranging practice covering all areas of IP but also contract cases with an IP or technical element. He had significant experience in the CJEU and some in General Court proceedings, in references or appeals relating to trade marks and copyright. He has spoken on trade marks to audiences in Singapore on several occasions.
Registered Patent Attorney (SG), Australian Patent and Trademark Attorney at Marks & Clerk Singapore LLP
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Deputy Managing Director of Covenant Chambers LLC
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Director of Ascendant Legal LLC
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Director of Amica Law LLC
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Dickson Poon School of Law at King’s College London
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Senior Patent Examiner, Patent Search and Examination at IPOS International
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Head, Copyright Unit Principal Legal Counsel, Legal Department at Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS)
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Of Counsel at Robinson LLC
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Managing Director of David Llewelyn & Co LLC
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High Court Judge at Singapore Supreme Court
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Judge at High Court of England & Wales
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Principal Legal Counsel, Hearings & Mediation Department at Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS)
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Professor of IP Law Institute for Information Law (IViR) at Amsterdam Law School, University of Amsterdam
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High Court Judge at Singapore Supreme Court
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Head (Intellectual Property) at EW Barker Centre for Law & Business, NUS Law
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International Judge at Singapore International Commercial Court
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Lecturer at NUS Law
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Deputy Director (Policy) of Personal Data Protection Commission (PDPC)
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Matthew is a partner with the firm Marks & Clerk Singapore LLP. He is a Singapore registered patent agent, and an Australian patent & trade mark attorney. Matthew is primarily involved with the drafting and prosecution of patent applications in various areas of technology, including semiconductor production systems, process engineering and control systems for manufacturing.
Matthew has experience in litigation matters in Singapore and Australia, including regularly appearing as an expert witness for validity and infringement issues before the IP Court of Malaya.
Matthew holds a Bachelor of Engineering and an MBA from the University of Adelaide.
Matthew moved to Singapore in 2004 and, prior to entering the profession, worked in both corporate and university-based research and development organisations.
Ronald JJ Wong is the Deputy Managing Director of Covenant Chambers LLC. He handles contentious and non-contentious technology, media, corporate, commercial, competition, data privacy, and IP-related matters, including IP registration, licensing and portfolio management. He has advised FinTech, MedTech, software, AI, blockchain, and digital asset companies, engineering companies, educational institutions, trade mark owners, and advertising agencies.
He has been recognised as Asian Legal Business (ALB) Asia Super 50 TMT Lawyer 2024, Asian Legal Business (ALB) Rising Star 2023, Asia Business Law Journal 2019, A-List Singapore’s Top 100 Lawyers. The firm’s TMT practice has been recognised in The Legal 500 Asia Pacific 2022 and Asialaw Profiles 2023.
He is also an accredited mediator and serves on the Singapore Academy of Law Subcommittee on Artificial Intelligence and Robotics.
Jeremiah is an intellectual property, technology and competition lawyer with Ascendant Legal LLC, Norton Rose Fulbright’s Formal Law Alliance partner in Singapore. He advises clients on both contentious and non-contentious matters, and his practice includes regulatory and transactional work in the technology sector, IP registration and licensing matters, and domestic and international IP portfolio management. He has also acted for clients at all levels of the Singapore courts, and represented clients in contentious proceedings before the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore and the Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore.
As part of his practice, Jeremiah regularly advises clients on data privacy issues. His work in this area includes conducting multi-jurisdictional compliance reviews, developing and refining in-house policies and processes, conducting training for C-suite executives and other senior employees, notifying and responding to requests from regulators, and coordinating corrective action following data breaches.
Jeremiah graduated from the National University of Singapore in 2010, where he was placed on the Dean’s List. Prior to joining the firm, he practised in the intellectual property practice of a leading local firm under a Senior Counsel.
Melvin is a Director of Amica Law LLC and his legal practice primarily focuses on IP litigation and enforcement, managing the trade mark portfolios for both local and international clients as well as handling and advising on pharmaceutical regulatory compliance and the patent linkage process in Singapore.
Melvin regularly advises and represents locally listed corporations as well as Fortune 500 companies, including Starbucks and Amazon in the end-to-end protection of their brand and trade mark portfolios. This includes managing the prosecution of their trade marks, handling infringement, opposition and invalidation actions at both the Registry and Court-levels, as well as devising and executing anti-counterfeiting and enforcement strategies.
Melvin also has extensive experience in the field of trade mark and patent litigation and has advised and acted for clients across diverse fields, ranging from representing an Italian manufacturer of porcelain stoneware tiles in a trade mark opposition action before the Court of Appeal - the highest court in Singapore - to acting for a De Beers subsidiary in relation to one of the largest patent infringement suits in Singapore to date for the manufacture and sale of synthetic diamonds.
Melvin also has a strong pharmacological advisory and litigation practice and has advised and acted for listed pharmaceuticals such as Sanofi-Aventis, Pfizer, Sun Pharmaceuticals and Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories in local regulatory as well as patent linkage and infringement proceedings.
Tanya Aplin is a Professor of Intellectual Property Law at the Dickson Poon School of Law, King’s College London. Her publications include: Copyright law in the digital society: the challenges of multimedia (Hart, 2005), Intellectual Property: Patents, Copyright, Trade Marks and Allied Rights 7th, 8th, 9th and 10th eds (Sweet & Maxwell, 2010, 2013, 2019, 2023) (with Prof. Cornish and Prof. Llewelyn), Intellectual Property Law: Text, Cases and Materials 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th eds (OUP, 2009, 2013, 2016, 2021) (with Dr Davis), Gurry on Breach of Confidence: The Protection of Confidential Information (OUP, 2012) (with Prof. Bently, Dr Johnson and Mr Malynicz) and Global Mandatory Fair Use: The Nature and Scope of the Right to Quote Copyright Works (CUP 2020) (with Prof. Bently). At King’s, she teaches courses on international and comparative copyright law and European and UK patent and trade secrets law.
Dr Cai holds a PhD in signal processing and communication from Nanyang Technical University of Singapore. She is currently a Senior Patent Examiner and a Group Leader at IPOS International, with extensive experience in patent search and examination for over a decade. Her responsibilities extend beyond examination to overseeing the quality of deliverables and mentoring new examiners. Dr Cai was practice lead in telecommunication standards search and Chinese prior art search in Information Communication Technology (ICT) division. She was also involved in several Standard Essential Patent (SEP) related projects.
Prior to joining IPOS International, Dr Cai worked at Panasonic as an in-house patent professional, specializing in the telecommunication sector. Her experience encompasses a broad range of patent-related services, such as WCDMA patent pool applications, 3G/4G SEP studies and infringement analysis.
Dr Cai is also a qualified Chinese patent agent and certified intangible asset management specialist.
Gavin is the Head of the Copyright Unit and Principal Legal Counsel in the Legal Department of the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS). He graduated from the National University of Singapore, Faculty of Law, and practised law as an intellectual property and commercial litigator before joining IPOS. In his current capacity, Gavin leads the Copyright Unit in developing and reviewing Singapore’s copyright policy and laws, advising the Singapore Government on copyright affairs, and overseeing the regulation of collective management organisations in Singapore. He served as a lead member of the Ministry-of-Law and IPOS taskforce that undertook Singapore’s largest policy and law reform project on copyright, which culminated in the Copyright Act 2021. Gavin has represented Singapore on intellectual property matters at international forums, including the WIPO Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights and in dispute settlement proceedings before the WTO Appellate Body. His articles on intellectual property have been featured in both domestic and international publications.
He was the founding and Managing Partner of a boutique IP firm and retired from the firm in April 2023. He has over 40 years of experience in intellectual property and commercial law.
He has represented clients in various industries including life sciences, technology, publishing, hospitality and travel in all aspects of commercial matters including setting up of businesses, intellectual property strategy, franchising and licensing and dispute issues.
He has been lead counsel in complex patent litigation and other contentious IP-related cases, and have been involved in a number of high profile and precedent setting IP cases before the Singapore Court of Appeal and the Patent Office, as well as handling multi-jurisdictional IP litigation
He has been ranked as a leading intellectual property lawyer by Asia Pacific Legal 500, IAM Patent 1000, Chambers Asia Pacific and IPAsia for many consecutive years. He is also a panel member of the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Centre, Asian Domain Name Dispute Resolution Centre; a Certified Mediator with the Singapore International Mediation Centre (SIMC) and Singapore International Mediation Institute (SIMI)
He had written many articles and authored several publications including the patents and registered deigns section of the Halsbury Law Singapore, Intellectual Property Vol 13.
David Llewelyn is a practising lawyer, academic and arbitrator. He is Managing Director of David Llewelyn & Co LLC; Professor (Practice) at Singapore Management University’s Yong Pung How School of Law and Professor of Intellectual Property Law at King’s College London; and sits as an arbitrator in international commercial disputes.
David is joint author of Kerly's Law of Trade Marks & Trade Names (17th ed., 2024) and Cornish, Llewelyn & Aplin: Intellectual Property (10th ed., 2023), as well as Modern Law of Copyright in Singapore (2023) and Cases, Materials and Commentary on Singapore Intellectual Property Law (2018). He also wrote the business book Invisible Gold in Asia: Creating Wealth through Intellectual Property (2010). He is an IP Adjudicator at the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore and has been appointed by the Singapore Court of Appeal as amicus curiae/independent counsel in cases involving trade marks, copyright, patents and geographical indications.
Justice Andre Maniam is a Judge on the High Court’s Intellectual Property List. He was appointed Judicial Commissioner on 4 May 2020 and High Court Judge on 1 November 2021.
He graduated with LLB (Honours) from the National University of Singapore and was awarded the Adrian Clark Memorial Medal for being the top law student for his year.
Before joining the bench, Justice Maniam had almost 30 years of experience as a lawyer, with the last 10 years as a Senior Counsel with a practice covering a wide range of subject areas in various modes of dispute resolution including litigation, arbitration, and mediation. Justice Maniam was on the panels of various arbitral institutes. He was also on the Singapore International Mediation Centre’s panel of specialist mediators. He is the co-chair of the Singapore Academy of Law’s Professional Affairs & Membership Committee.
Justice Maniam previously headed the Litigation & Dispute Resolution Group at WongPartnership LLP.
Mr Justice Mellor became a Judge in the High Court of England & Wales, assigned to the Chancery Division, in February 2021, after a long career as an IP barrister at the leading IP set at 8, New Square in Lincoln’s Inn, where latterly he was Head of Chambers.
James was called to the Bar of England & Wales in 1986, having emerged from two periods at King’s College, Cambridge studying Engineering and then Law (1st). As an engineer he worked in the UK and in many countries abroad. James had a wide-ranging practice covering all areas of IP but also contract cases with an IP or technical element. He had significant experience in the CJEU and some in General Court proceedings, in references or appeals relating to trade marks and copyright. He has spoken on trade marks to audiences in Singapore on several occasions.
Gabriel serves as Principal Legal Counsel and tribunal hearing officer (Principal Assistant Registrar) for disputes that come under the jurisdiction of the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS). His core portfolio at IPOS involves policy work in relation to promoting and furthering Singapore’s attractiveness as a hub for IP / Tech dispute resolution, as well as contributing to legislative reform in this connection. Prior to joining IPOS, Gabriel spent five years practising in the field of IP litigation at one of the top law practices in Singapore. Gabriel is also an adjunct Assistant Professor with the National University of Singapore law faculty (since 2021) where he co-taught the “Foundations of IP Law” module (from 2020-2024) and the “IP Arbitration” module (2022-present).
Martin Senftleben is Professor of Intellectual Property Law and Director, Institute for Information Law (IViR), University of Amsterdam. His activities focus on the reconciliation of private intellectual property rights with competing public interests of a social, cultural or economic nature. Current research topics include AI training and text and data mining; machine substitution of human creative labour and author remuneration; data property and internet of things; open science and digital sovereignty of researchers; platform and digital ecosystem regulation; copyright data improvement and content recommender systems; quality journalism and the economic viability of public interest media; behavioural advertising and consumer empowerment.
Professor Senftleben is a member of the Benelux Council for Intellectual Property and a former member of the Copyright Advisory Committee of the Dutch State. He provided advice to WIPO in copyright, trademark and unfair competition projects. For the European Commission, he prepared a study on data access and reuse. He is President of the Trademark Law Institute (TLI), a member and former President of the European Copyright Society (ECS) and a member of the Executive Committee of the Association littéraire et artistique internationale (ALAI). As a visiting professor, he was invited to the National University of Singapore, the Engelberg Center at NYU Law School, the Oxford Intellectual Property Research Centre, Tel Aviv University and the Intellectual Property Research Institute of Xiamen University. His numerous publications include Copyright, Limitations and the Three-Step Test (2004), European Trade Mark Law – A Commentary (with Annette Kur, 2017) and The Copyright/Trademark Interface (2020). As a guest lecturer, he provides courses at the Centre for International Intellectual Property Studies (CEIPI), Strasbourg, the Munich Intellectual Property Law Center (MIPLC) and the Jagiellonian University Krakow.
Justice Dedar Singh Gill was appointed Judicial Commissioner of the Supreme Court on 1 August 2018 and High Court Judge on 1 August 2020.
Justice Gill graduated with a Bachelor of Laws (2nd Class Upper Honours) from the National University of Singapore in 1983.
Justice Gill last held the position of Managing Director of the Intellectual Property Department at Messrs. Drew and Napier LLC. He had appeared as counsel before the High Court and Court of Appeal for major corporate clients and had established a considerable reputation for his expertise and experience in intellectual property law.
Justice Gill was appointed by Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon to manage the Intellectual Property (IP) list of the High Court and implement the recommendations submitted by the IP Dispute Resolution Framework Review Committee to review the Intellectual Property dispute resolution system in Singapore. In addition to hearing IP cases, Justice Gill also hears cases pertaining to contract, tort and negligence.
Professor David Tan holds a PhD from Melbourne Law School, a LLM from Harvard, and graduated with a LLB (First Class Honours)/BCom from the University of Melbourne. He has taught courses at Melbourne Law School, King's College London, Tsinghua University, University of Tokyo and University of Hong Kong. David was formerly with the Singapore Administrative Service, serving as Director of Sports at Ministry of Community Development, Youth & Sports (MCYS) and Director of International Talent at Ministry of Manpower (MOM). In the area of law, he has published in a diverse range of journals such as the Yale Journal of International Law, Harvard Journal of Sports & Entertainment Law, Law Quarterly Review, Media & Arts Law Review, Singapore Journal of Legal Studies, and Australian Intellectual Property Journal. In 2017, David published his monograph The Commercial Appropriation of Fame: A Cultural Analysis of the Right of Publicity & Passing Off on celebrity personality rights published by Cambridge University Press. His more recent writings are focused on issues relating to generative AI and copyright law. Since joining NUS Law in 2008, he has published over 100 articles, book chapters and case comments, and his works have been cited on numerous occasions by the Supreme Court of Singapore.
He studied Jurisprudence at Oxford University from 1968-1971 and received the degree of MA (Hons). He was called to the Bar of England and Wales by the Honourable Society of The Inner Temple in 1972 and then began practice at the Intellectual Property Bar. He was appointed King’s Counsel in 1989. Justice Thorley has more than 40 years of experience in Intellectual Property and related law, and was a leading practitioner in that field until he ceased practice in 2014. He was a Deputy High Court Judge in England and Wales and was also the Deputy Chairman of the Copyright Tribunal in the United Kingdom for eight years. He was a co-editor of the 13th-15th Editions of Terrell on the Law of Patents, a standard work of reference on UK patent law. Justice Thorley served as Treasurer of the Inner Temple in 2013.
Benjamin is a Lecturer with the NUS Faculty of Law, and an Advocate & Solicitor in Singapore. His research interests include data protection law and the law of confidence. Prior to his current appointment, Benjamin was a Research Assistant with the EW Barker Centre for Law & Business, where he conducted research on intellectual property law. During his stint in Drew & Napier LLC, he worked in the fields of competition law and data protection law, among other areas of regulatory practice.
Francis is Deputy Director (Policy) at the Personal Data Protection Commission (PDPC) and is also a member of the Singapore Legal Service. He is experienced in data protection laws and regulations for both public and private sectors. In 2019, he represented the Attorney-General’s Chambers to support the Public Sector Data Security Review Committee, which was convened to comprehensively review data security practices across the public sector, including measures and processes related to the collection and protection of citizens’ personal data. He has also advised the Ministry of Education on a wide range of data protection issues pertaining to both government and non-government schools.
At the PDPC, Francis leads the Policy team, which develops and refines data protection policies and cross-border data flow strategies to support data sharing across the economy and across borders.
The SCCA Academy provides skills-based professional education and training programmes for Legal Corporate Counsels. It represents the interests of in-house lawyers working for companies and other entities based in Singapore to ensure that skills and knowledge stay relevant in today’s knowledge-intensive and business-driven economy.
The SCCA Academy offers a comprehensive array of interdisciplinary course modules to support a lifelong learning imperative, help organisations meet their reskilling goals, and equip individuals with the necessary skills and competencies as Legal Corporate Counsels.
If you have any questions please contact SCCA Secretariat at secretariat@scca.org.sg or +65 66363638.