The Legal 500 > Asia Pacific > Hong Kong > Intellectual property

Led by the 'highly regarded' Matthew Laight, Bird & Bird's six-partner Greater China offering (which includes two partners based in mainland China) provides 'customer-centric' advice to leading global brands, regional heavyweights, and local SMEs across the waterfront of their Asia Pacific IP needs. The team is 'very strong' at handling the various needs of clients within the life sciences and health care sectors, an area that Alison Wong excels, both on the contentious front, where she regularly handles complex multi-jurisdictional patent litigation, as well as on transactional matters, including on the negotiation of R&D agreements and technology licensing. As part of his broad-ranging brand protection and transactional IP offering, the 'highly-regarded' Hank Leung  has a niche advising on the monetisation of IP assets for gaming/e-sports clients. Counsel Victor Tse has a strong reputation for technology companies and venture capital firms on the effective commercialisation of IPR, and is also well-placed to advise on drafting, analysing and prosecuting patent applications, by virtue of his dual qualification as a patent attorney.

With eight partners focused on IP matters, as well as access to an in-house team of patent attorneys, independent Hong Kong big-hitter Deacons has the resources to handle the full scope of contentious and non-contentious IP matters, directly from clients, as well as on a referral basis from other law firms. Triple qualified in Canada, UK, and Hong Kong, and also benefiting from a science background, Charmaine Koo is the 'go-to practitioner' across a myriad of IP matters relating to trade marks, copyright, passing off, and patents. 'There's a reason why everyone in the market instructs her', Koo combines strong commercial instincts with deep knowledge of the underlying law and technology/science being used, whether it be in the context of advice on commercial contracts, or high-stakes litigation. One of the few Hong Kong solicitors with postgraduate qualifications, lawyer and patent attorney Jeffrey McLean is a key resource on the patent front, with his work spanning disputes, as well as portfolio management and prosecution advice. 'Very talented' Patsy Lau co-heads the team with Koo and specialises in the protection of large multinational and regional trade mark portfolios.

Led by the 'excellent' Gabriela Kennedy, Mayer Brown's two-partner team is particularly strong at advising on branding strategy and portfolio management throughout Asia Pacific, where it is also able to leverage significant resources on the ground in key offices, including Singapore, Thailand and Japan. Kennedy is also well-versed at handling matters at the intersection of TMT and IP (including advice on licensing agreements and other technology-related commercial contracts work), while her contentious work includes the representation of clients in trade mark and licensing disputes, as well as in her role as an arbitrator at the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre (HKIAC) for Intellectual Property Disputes. Although the team was weakened at a senior level by the recent retirement of Rosita Li, it has successfully nurtured a sizeable roster of more junior talent, including Amita Haylock, whose promotion to partner at the beginning of 2020 is a testament to her broad-ranging IP and TMT disputes offering, in particular.

Working on standalone mandates and forming an integral part of the firm's overarching global IP capability, Norton Rose Fulbright advises regional and multinational technology, manufacturing, life sciences, financial institutions, and further education clients seeking to acquire, commercialise and enforce their IPR. Portfolio management continues to inform a sizeable proportion of work handled by the team, whether it be in the context of advising international clients on their Greater China requirements or project managing the global portfolio needs of Hong Kong-based companies, including core client Crown Worldwide (which the office continues to advise on its global strategic trade mark requirements). As part of his broad-ranging IP expertise, 'very influential' team head Justin Davidson regularly handles patent-related work for life sciences companies, both in an advisory and prosecution capacity, as well as on a growing amount of PRC-related disputes. Stanley Ng's arrival from Deacons in June 2019, strengthens the firm's credibility on the patent ligation front, and is part of a talented group of associates that also includes Maggie Chong.

Led from Hong Kong by Eugene Low and also able to access significant resources in mainland China (including the ability to advise on local law matters by virtue of the firm's establishment of Hogan Lovells Fidelity), Hogan Lovells' seven-strong team is well-placed to advise clients across a fairly balanced spread of contentious and non-contentious IP work. Leveraging the firm's global network of offices, the team can assist international clients on the management of their IP portfolios throughout Asia, and also provide the IP commercialisation advice (including on licensing and distribution agreements) associated with international brands seeking to establish operations in Hong Kong. On the litigation front, the team has recently handled numerous copyright, trade mark and passing off matters, areas that solicitor advocate Andrew Cobden has experience alongside his niche patent law prowess. Recently promoted to senior associate, PJ Kaur is particularly noted for her trade mark portfolio management, enforcement, and litigation expertise for fashion, cosmetics, and pharmaceutical clients.

Jones Day's Hong Kong office forms a key part of the firm's cohesive Asia IP offering, which also draws upon the expertise of lawyers based in mainland China and Taiwan. Much of the work it handles is of a cross-border nature and the team excels in advising multinational companies on the protection of their IPR throughout Greater China, as well as providing counselling on Asia-related technology transactions to help minimise IP risks. Hong Kong-based partner Haifeng Huang co-heads the firm's China IP practice and regularly represents US and Chinese IT and pharmaceutical clients on IP disputes. The team also regularly provides the IP due diligence on M&A matters involving significant IPR.

Led from Hong Kong by Andrea Fong and also benefiting from a sizeable Beijing presence, Wilkinson & Grist is instructed by a raft of high-profile international brands to manage and protect their trade mark portfolios throughout Hong Kong and China. Some of this work takes on a contentious complexion and includes invalidation applications, as well as enforcement work. The firm is also increasingly active in patent portfolio management.

Clifford Chance's Hong Kong-based team excels in advising on complex multi-jurisdictional mandates (including on the IP-related due diligence associated with M&A in the region), by dint of its ability to leverage resources spread across the firm's global network of offices. Team head Ling Ho has an excellent reputation for handling IP and broader tech-related disputes, in addition to IP-based commercial contracts work. Ho has recently handled the IP issues associated with several matters in the fintech space.

Led from Hong Kong by Edward Chatterton and also benefiting from practitioners on the ground in Beijing and Shanghai, DLA Piper provides 'commercial, responsive and pragmatic' advice to international companies on the IP-related issues associated with establishing and operating business activities in the region. The team has recently advised numerous high-profile global food and beverage companies, including Five Guys and McDonald's, on their Greater China-related IP portfolio management. The team also regularly advises on IP-related commercial issues (including the drafting of licenses, franchising and publishing agreements), while on the litigation front, it has considerable experience handling domain name, copyright and trade mark disputes.

Although it was weakened somewhat following the departure of Jonathan Chu to CMS in December 2019, Stephenson Harwood maintains a solid IP offering. The 'very responsive and thorough' Jezamine Fewins heads the team and excels at handling IP matters at the intersection of employment law, including representing clients on issues relating to the theft of confidential information and trade secrets.

Headed by Janet Wong , Dorsey & Whitney LLP's four-strong IP team is best-known for its trade mark capability and the ability to effectively formulate and maintain brand protection strategies throughout Greater China for local and multinational clients from a range of industries.

Led from Hong Kong by Gordon Milner and aided by significant resources in Shanghai, Morrison & Foerster has a particular focus acting for technology and life sciences clients on the commercialistion of their IPR, including advice on R&D agreements, licensing agreements, and technology transfer. The team also regularly provides the IP overlay on technology-related M&A handled by the firm's private equity/venture capital group.

Well-established independent Hong Kong-based firm Oldham, Li & Nie provides 'concise and accurate advice' to local SMEs, China-based corporates, and multinational entities on brand protection throughout Greater China. Team head Vera Sung's broad IP offering includes expertise across trade mark, patent, and copyright matters, enabling her to provide effective advice to many international clients seeking to preserve and protect their brand throughout the region. While it is better-known for its advisory and portfolio management expertise, the team also handles a range of contentious IP matters, including advice on trade mark and domain name disputes, and is able to draw upon the firm's broader commercial litigation credentials, should the need arise.

Led from Hong Kong by Gino Cheng , Winston & Strawn LLP's Asia IP practice forms an integral part of the firm's overarching global offering and regularly works alongside US colleagues for Asian clients in patent disputes before the US federal courts and in International Trade Commission (ITC) investigations. The team is also well-versed in advising IP-rich multinational companies on compliance measures to better protect their IP and trade secrets throughout Greater China. This part of the practice is ably supported by the firm's Global Privacy and Data Security Task Force.