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For more than 25 years, Andrew Cobden has been helping companies understand and deal with intellectual property issues. In that time, he has dealt with all types of matters involving a wide range of technology including artificial intelligence, mobile telephones, light-emitting diode lights, car spare parts, oil well valves, car navigation systems, many types of pharmaceuticals, and biological products. He enjoys the challenge of understanding how leading-edge, complex science and technology works. He often works with leading technical experts and has helped design experiments to produce evidence of patent infringement. His goal is to find practical and, if necessary, innovative solutions to legal problems so clients can focus on their businesses. Andrew studied in Australia and joined the firm in 1985, first working in London, then in Tokyo, and now in Hong Kong. Having lived and worked on three continents, he appreciates the legal, commercial, and cultural issues and differences that impact businesses operating globally, both in the East and the West. Andrew advises global technology companies on licensing their intellectual property (IP) into mainland China, through joint ventures and other licensing arrangements. He regularly helps multinational companies understand the patent enforcement landscape in China and other countries in Asia to achieve their commercial objectives. He has worked on all types of IP litigation, for plaintiffs and defendants, in both trials and appeals in England, France, Japan, Mainland China, and Hong Kong. Andrew is one of the few solicitor advocates with higher rights of audience before the Hong Kong Courts for civil proceedings. Andrew frequently represents clients in the superior courts in Hong Kong. He also has substantial experience in other forms of dispute resolution, including arbitrations and mediations. Apart from IP disputes, Andrew has acted for clients across a broad spectrum of matters from competition law (antitrust) to pharmaceutical regulations and clinical trials, international fraud and defamation cases (including obtaining a judgment from a jury worth several million dollars), and a multibillion-dollar transaction involving the sale of a mobile telephone network in Japan.
As part of our Litigation, Arbitration, and Employment practice, Antonia Croke focuses on complex, cross-border litigation for multinational companies and financial institutions. Antonia is highly experienced in advising on corporate and shareholder disputes, fraud, insolvency/restructuring and financial services litigation. Before joining Hogan Lovells, Antonia worked in the London office of an international law firm and as an associate in two leading Australian law firms in Sydney from 2004 to 2010. Antonia also spent time on secondment in the Litigation team at a major UK bank. In 2015 Antonia was featured in the Cambridge Judge Business School magazine, Flux as a “Leading Light” in the legal industry.
Damon So is dual qualified in law and engineering, having started his professional life as a chartered civil and structural engineer. He subsequently qualified as a lawyer, and is now a partner in the Construction and Engineering practice of Hogan Lovells. Damon is a rare breed of lawyer who has done a large volume of both contentious and non-contentious work and understands the needs of both commercial and litigious clients. His contentious work includes litigation and arbitration, acting for statutory bodies, employers, contractors, consultants and insurers, in respect of building and civil projects, and in commercial disputes. His non-contentious work includes advising and drafting construction, consultancy, and other related contracts for employers, contractors, and consultants in respect of a number of building and civil projects using different forms of contract including the HKIA form, FIDIC, NEC3, IChemE, Australian Standard Form, Hong Kong Government forms, and standard forms of major statutory bodies in Hong Kong. He is the Honorary Legal Advisor to the American Society of Civil Engineers, Kwong Yuet Tong, the Hong Kong Institute of Construction Managers, the Professional Green Building Council, and the Hong Kong Institute of Urban Design.
James Kwan is an International Arbitration partner in Hong Kong. He specialises in technology, private equity, energy, and life sciences disputes. He has a range of international experience, having represented clients in arbitrations in Asia, the U.S., Middle East, and Europe under the major institutional and ad hoc rules, such as ICC, HKIAC, SIAC, CIETAC, LCIA, AAA, DIAC, and UNCITRAL. James has also sat as arbitrator and rendered awards in HKIAC, ICC, and DIAC arbitrations, and in addition is on the CIETAC, LCIA, SHIAC and KCAB and AIAC panels. James is a solicitor advocate with Higher Rights of Audience before the Hong Kong courts.
Recognized as a luminary, Kenny Wong has received close to 120 awards as a leading intellectual property (IP) practitioner in Hong Kong and China. His experience covers the full spectrum of IP/information technology (IT) laws. He also practices franchise law, advising clients on setting up franchised operations in Hong Kong and the People’s Republic of China and has received awards as a leading franchise lawyer. Besides conventional IP/IT work, he enjoys an enviable gaming and entertainment practice acting for gaming operators, A-list artistes, film directors, film production companies, and record companies. He is unique in understanding and handling collaborations between the film industries in Hong Kong, China, and the United States and is also recognized as a leading entertainment lawyer in Hong Kong.Besides his busy practice, Kenny is also a seasoned and popular lecturer. In addition to his part-time teaching at the University of Hong Kong (HKU), he has delivered nearly 140 lectures, seminars, and presentations to judges, IP enforcement officers, lawyers, enterprises, universities, and members of the public on IP and IT subjects in Hong Kong, China, Singapore, Malaysia, Japan, the Philippines, and the United States. At HKU, he has taught courses on cybercrime and intellectual property. Since 2019, he and an in-house counsel of a leading broadcaster have designed and co-taught a new entertainment law course for HKU.Kenny publishes extensively too. He co-authored "Intellectual Property Law and Practice in Hong Kong," a recommended text by the three universities in Hong Kong that offer IP courses. He is also the co-author of the IP chapters in the tort reference book "Tort Law & Practice in Hong Kong." He wrote two booklets on IP licensing and due diligence that were jointly published by the Hong Kong government and the Law Society of Hong Kong.Kenny serves on various professional committees. He is the chairman of the IP Committee of the Law Society of Hong Kong, which is always busy making recommendations on the IP laws and practice in Hong Kong. Amongst other government appointments, he also serves as the deputy chairman of the Copyright Tribunal. In 2019, he received the Law Society’s Pro Bono and Community Service 10-Year Achievement Awards for his giving time generously to pro bono causes.
Mark Parsons is a technology, media, and telecommunications (TMT) partner who heads the firm's corporate practice in Hong Kong office. His practice spans the Asia-Pacific region, covering the full range of commercial and regulatory work in the TMT and other business sectors. His particular areas of focus on the commercial front include technology and business process outsourcing, electronic and mobile payments, fintech, media and data licensing, telecommunications service arrangements, supply chain and procurement, e-commerce and m-commerce, brand licensing and distribution arrangements, and the acquisition and exploitation of intellectual property and information technology assets. Mark is also one of the region's leading advisors on data protection and cyber security regulation.
Timothy Hill is head of the Projects, Engineering, and Construction practice of Hogan Lovells in Asia. He is based in Hong Kong, where he has lived for over 30 years. Tim has vast experience in relation to advisory work in the construction industry and construction disputes. During the course of practice, Tim has considered most of the issues that commonly arise in the industry. He is currently engaged in advising a variety of clients across the Asia-Pacific region on civil engineering, process, and building projects. In resolving matters, Tim has undertaken a considerable amount of arbitration and litigation as well as a variety of forms of alternative dispute resolution. Tim is a practicing arbitrator and has written and spoken widely on topics relating to construction industry and dispute resolution.