Mark is That. lawyer who approaches his work with an entrepreneurial mindset. Graduating from the National University of Singapore in 2011, Mark specialises in the strategic protection and commercialisation of intellectual property (“IP”). 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 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 High Court upheld the Marathon Case 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 helped his client, Promedia Directories (a.k.a. The Green Book), through a 23-day High Court trial and a 5-member Court of Appeal hearing. The GYP case stands as the leading authority for, inter alia, subsistence of compilation copyright and what amounts to fair use. In the end, his client was awarded over a million dollars in legal costs for succeeding in their defence.
Mark was listed as one of Singapore’s Top 20 Under 40 Lawyers by Singapore Business Review from as early as 2018, was named a Rising Star in 2023 and then upgraded to Trade Mark Star in 2024 by Managing IP, a leading individual by WTR1000 in 2024 for his prowess in enforcement and litigation, 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 with maximum effort – That. is the way.
For diversion, Mark refines his golf swing, dabbles with pickleball and tries to set a good example for his sons.
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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)