Shook Lin & Bok has maintained a steady capability with some of the most experienced litigators in the field, particularly in the intellectual property and construction realms. It offers disputes coverage across a wide swathe of areas, including arbitration, banking and finance, competition, insurance, labour and employment, real estate and shipping.
Key contacts within the disputes group are firm managing partner and head of IP, Michael Soo, and arbitration, construction and insurance head Ko Luen Lam. Other core leaders of the 15 partner-strong team include co-head of the dispute resolution department and head of labour and industrial disputes Romesh Abraham and Sin Min Yoong, co-head of the dispute resolution department.
The firm's IP team, headed by Soo, is currently representing Public Bank in an ongoing intellectual property dispute. The case pertains to an application filed by TransferWise, seeking the partial expungement or modification of the service mark specification registered by Public Bank. Specifically, TransferWise aims to limit Public Bank's registration to specific services within Class 36. This particular case holds notable significance as it is one of the initial instances involving the partial expungement of a registered trademark under the Trademarks Act 2019 (TMA). Furthermore, it also introduces the concept of modifying the specification of services, a remedy not explicitly outlined in the TMA.
CIMB Islamic Bank, Malayan Banking, OCBC Bank, Sika, Sims Capital and United Overseas Bank (Malaysia) were among the firm’s disputes clients last year.
