Mark is a visionary who approaches his work as That® lawyer with an entrepreneurial mind. Graduating from the National University of Singapore in 2011, Mark specialises in the protection and commercialisation of Intellectual Property (“IP”), as well as IP dispute resolution. He currently holds the following appointments:
Chair, Intellectual Property (“IP”) Enforcement and Dispute Resolution Sub-committee of the Law Society of Singapore (“LSS”)
Vice-chair of the LSS Small Firms Law Committee;
Member, Industry Engagement and Advisory Group, for the Legal Tech Platform (“LTP”) created by Lupl in partnership with the Ministry of Law, Singapore;
Member, Intangibles Disclosure Working Group jointly organised by the IP Office of Singapore (“IPOS”) and the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (“ACRA”) responsible for the Intangibles Disclosure Framework 2023;
Member, LSS Investigative Tribunal Panel.
Mark is a formidable litigator known for iconic IA cases such as the leading copyright case of Global Yellow Pages v. Promedia Directories [2017] SGCA 28 (the “GYP Case”) and the highly publicised marathon defamation case Ashley Liew v Soh Rui Yong [2021] SGDC 206 (the “Marathon Case”).
The Marathon Case was upheld by the High Court on appeal and currently stands as the highest known award ($180,000) in a defamation suit commenced in the State Courts.
Mark is particularly passionate about developing IP law in Singapore. In the GYP Case, Mark represented Promedia Directories (a.k.a. The Green Book). After a 23-day High Court trial and a 5-member Court of Appeal hearing, the case stands as the leading authority for the subsistence of compilation copyright, what amounts to infringement of copyright, and fair use. His client, The Green Book was awarded over a million dollars in legal costs for their successful defence.
Mark was listed as one of Singapore’s top 20 lawyers under 40 by Singapore Business Review in 2018, a Rising Star in 2023 by Managing IP and is a co-author of LexisNexis’ Annotated Statutes on the Registered Designs Act.
“Brands have become the most important strategic differentiator in global markets. We help brand owners unlock and monetise their intangible assets.”
As an avid photographer, Mark appreciates creativity and understands the value of IP. He takes a personal interest in his clients’ matters and pursues practical and innovative legal solutions - That® is the way.
For diversion Mark refines his golf swing, toys with his Nikon camera and tries to set a good example for his toddler.
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Media & Speaking Engagements:
Speaker at ‘Future Lawyering Conference’ by the Law Society of Singapore on “Use of legal technologies in court“
Speaker at the ‘5th developments in IP Law series – copyright session’ featuring preeminent speakers of Singapore IP
Speaker at IP Week 2017 – Ideas to assets – Driving the future economy with IP @ Marina Bay Sands Convention Centre on 'IP Enterprise Court’
Speaker at the Yerra Conference on ‘The use and abuse of electronic discovery' for in-house counsel for major Singapore companies
Industry feedback to the Ministry of Law’s public consultation on proposed reforms to the IP dispute resolution framework for the Law Society of Singapore
‘Legal ramifications of the distribution of obscene materials’, Harpers Bazaar, Singapore
‘The crossroads of compilation copyright and database protection’, The Copyright Lawyer, UK
‘Unlocking Start-ups’ Hidden Value Using Intellectual Property’, NUS Entrepreneurship Society
Photographs by Kelvin Koh, Lightedpixels Photography (Link)