Managing IP celebrated firms and practitioners across the Asia-Pacific region for their achievements and contributions to the industry with domestic firms such as TMI Associates, Tilleke & Gibbins and Anand and Anand standing out as the biggest winners.
The ceremony, held at the Mandarin Oriental in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on November 5, marked the third year of successfully co-hosting the annual Asia-Pacific Awards with Managing IP’s sister brand, asialaw, bringing together private practice and in-house practitioners from across the region.
The full list of winners can be found here.
IP STARS’s principal analyst Charlie Wong, who co-hosted the ceremony, said the highlight of the night was seeing the IP community come together in person, reconnect with familiar faces, build new relationships and celebrate the achievements of colleagues and peers.
“Throughout the research cycle, many of our conversations with practitioners take place online, so there is something particularly special about moving beyond those virtual interviews and meeting everyone face to face.
“Seeing the people we have spoken with throughout the year gathered in the same room, celebrating not only their own achievements but also those of their peers, brings the whole process full circle. It is a wonderful reminder of why the work we do throughout the year is so worthwhile,” she added.
Regional lead
Once again, domestic and regional firms delivered some of the strongest performances, continuing a trend seen in previous years.
Japan-based TMI Associates topped the leaderboard, clinching five accolades in various categories, including ‘Asia-Pacific Firm of the Year (Domestic IP Law Firm)’, ‘Asia-Pacific Practitioner of the Year’ (awarded to Yoshiyuki Inaba), ‘Patent Disputes Firm of the Year’, ‘Patent Prosecution Firm of the Year’ and ‘Trademark Firm of the Year’.
In addition to its recognised strength across various IP disciplines, the firm demonstrated outstanding success in high-stakes patent disputes over the past year.
It secured a landmark Supreme Court victory for telecom company Dwango against video hosting platform FC2 in a precedent-setting case that, for the first time, clarified the extraterritorial reach of Japanese patent rights in network-related inventions.
Tilleke & Gibbins, last year’s top performer, won four awards for its different regional offices, including ‘IP Firm of the Year (Cambodia)’, ‘Patent Firm of the Year (Thailand)’, ‘Trademark Firm of the Year (Thailand)’ and ‘Patent Firm of the Year (Vietnam)’. This was the broadest multi-market performance among the winners.
Meanwhile, Anand and Anand, Davies Collison Cave, Baker McKenzie Wong & Leow and Rouse network firms won three awards each.
India’s Anand & Anand, which has been another steady specialist performer over the years, picked up the coveted ‘Asia-Pacific Firm of the Year – IP Boutique’ award, as well as the ‘Patent Disputes Firm of the Year’ and ‘Trademark Firm of the Year’ recognitions.
The firm has continued to demonstrate strength across the full range of IP work, including advisory, prosecution, enforcement and complex litigation, over the years.
Anand & Anand’s notable wins included the decade-long Philips v Sukesh Behl SEP dispute, in which the Delhi High Court upheld the validity and essentiality of Philips’ DVD technology patent and found infringement, providing important guidance on SEP enforcement in India.
On the trademark front, it represented Mars Incorporated in a 25-year dispute with Cadbury (now Mondelez) over the ‘Celebrations’ mark, spanning Delhi High Court litigation and multiple opposition and rectification proceedings.
Qantm IP-owned Davies Collison Cave picked up the ‘Trademark (IP Boutique) Firm of the Year’ and ‘Patent Disputes (IP Boutiques) Firm of the Year’ in Australia, emerging as a new regional leader across practice areas. Practitioner Elizabeth Godfrey also snagged the award for ‘Asia-Pacific Practitioner of the Year (IP Boutique Firms)’.
The firm represented Orica in a significant wireless blasting technology dispute against Dyno Nobel Asia Pacific, securing infringement findings on three patents and successfully defending against extensive validity challenges.
James & Wells was also recognised, having been named the ‘Trans-Tasman Firm of the Year’, in addition to securing the ‘Patent Firm of the Year’ award for New Zealand.
Maintaining momentum
Among foreign firms, Baker McKenzie and Rouse continue to be consistent performers across jurisdictions.
Baker McKenzie Wong & Leow swept several key awards for its work in Singapore. It was recognised as ‘IP Transactions & Advisory Firm of the Year’, ‘Trademark Disputes Firm of the Year’ and ‘Trademark Prosecution Firm of the Year’, giving it one of the most rounded jurisdictional performances.
Meanwhile Rouse won the coveted Asia-Pacific Firm of the Year award in the Foreign Firms category as well as the Foreign IP Firm of the Year (China) recognition.
The firm, in association with local partner Suryomurcito & Co, was also recognised as the IP Firm of the Year in Indonesia.
Congratulations to all the winners!
See the research methodology and shortlists here.
You can read more about the Managing IP Awards here.
