Closing out an extremely active year, DVC’s Winnie Tam SC, JP’s plenary session and talk at the HKTDC’s Business of IP Asia Forum, held on 6 and 7 December was one of DVC’s last presentations for 2018.
On the first day of the Forum, Winnie chaired a Plenary Session featuring IP luminaries hailing from variously the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO.) The session was entitled Dialogue with IP Policymakers: The Roadmap for Global IP Ecosystems. Taking centre-stage was the challenge of IP protection in the context of a rapidly advancing digital environment given that rights remain enforceable territorially. Key policymakers questioned how robust and effective current regulatory regimes were in light of accelerated globalization and large-scale technological changes.
On the following day, Winnie delivered a presentation in a breakout session entitled: Framing Global IP Protection Strategy in a Tech-Innovative Century co-hosted by the Department of Justice. The Hon. Ms. Teresa Cheng, GBS, SC, JP, Secretary for Justice, prefaced the presentation with Opening Remarks.
In a title that was perfectly married to the meat of the talk, “Interplay between Modes of Resolving International IP Disputes & The Enforcement of Arbitration Awards in Mainland China,” Winnie took the audience through:
– Common types of cross-jurisdiction IP Disputes including the options for resolution
– Advantages and Disadvantage of Litigation vs. Advantages and Disadvantages of Arbitration and Mediation
– Alternate uses of Litigation, Arbitration, Mediation and IP disputes
– Pros and Cons of an Arbitrator acting as a Mediator in the same case
– Arbitrability of IP Disputes
– Arbitration of IP Rights and Enforcement of Arbitration Awards in the PRC
– Enforcement of International IP arbitral awards in PRC including tips on how to overcome the risk of Non-Enforcement
The conference was teeming with market updates, latest trends, leading examples of IP disputes and prominent guest speakers, including Chief Executive, Carrie Lam and Benjamin Bai of Alipay [now known as Ant Financial Services Group Limited.] The symposium successfully twinned topical and insightful content with excellent networking opportunities.
The event additionally lent itself to interaction with a diverse cross-section of the Intellectual Property community, with participants and delegates comprising IP service providers, solicitors, patent agents, consultants, in-house counsel and scientists and fin-tech investors hailing from various countries around the region. It also afforded a fantastic opportunity to discern particular concerns and needs, to raise awareness as to why Hong Kong represents a desirable forum for IP dispute resolution, and to exchange new ideas and share expertise.
In addition to featuring Winnie Tam SC, JP as a speaker and a moderator, DVC’s Ling Chun Wai, Christopher Chain and Eva Leung also attended the conference.
