Deacons

Intellectual Property practice group

Partner, Co-head of Intellectual Property practice group, Head of China IP practice group

Annie is Co-Head of Deacons’ Intellectual Property Department and Head of China IP Practice Group.

Annie is qualified in Hong Kong and England and Wales.  She holds an LLB (Hons) from the University of Hong Kong.

Annie has more than 25 years’ experience in advising on all aspects of intellectual property work in China and on the unique challenges arising from doing business there.  Annie has advised many major Hong Kong and international clients on strategic issues in Mainland China relating to the protection, enforcement and commercial exploitation of intellectual property rights including managing complex intellectual property portfolios and she represents some of the world’s leading companies in the luxury goods, cosmetic, pharmaceutical, entertainment, fashion and electronics industries.

Annie has advised extensively on the IP aspects of acquisition and restructuring of businesses including technology transfer, licensing and cooperation issues, technology development and improvement.  Annie also advises on Internet-related regulations and domain name disputes.

Annie is an active member of many committees and serves as the First Deputy Secretary General, Assistant Secretary General and Chairman of Independent Members of The International Association for the Protection of Intellectual Property (AIPPI) and is also on the BIP Asia Steering Committee (2021), HKTDC and the IP Committee of the Law Society of Hong Kong.

Annie is the recipient of many awards and accolades including recognition by Legal 500 as a Recommended Lawyer for Intellectual Property (Foreign Firms, China) (2021), by World Trademark Review 1000 (WTR 1000) as a WTR Global Leader: Hong Kong (2021) and a Gold Tier Individual in Prosecution and Strategy in Hong Kong (2019 – 2021), and by Managing IP as a Trade Mark Star in China (2017 – 2021).

Highlights

Advised a Silicon Valley semiconductor company (a leading provider of highly integrated semiconductor products that enable intelligent processing for networking, communication and the digital home), on all IP-related issues in a cross-border asset acquisition and migration of R&D employees Advised a UK company on cross-border commercial acquisition for the exploitation of R&D facilities in China Advised a US IT solution provider serving the global hospitality industry on cloud computing and relevant data privacy issues in China Advised a well-known Swiss watch brand in connection with worldwide trade mark portfolio, trade mark infringement, infringing domain names and cyber-squatting cases Advised one of Hong Kong’s largest public institutions on trade mark infringement and unfair competition matters Advised a major Italian sportswear company on a re-financing scheme based on IP rights in the Greater China region, trade mark infringement and unfair competition cases in China Represented leading German electronics and chemical company in infringing company names cases Represented Hong Kong, US and Swiss companies in relation to mergers and acquisitions and the transfer of IP rights

EnglishCantoneseMandarin

First Deputy Secretary General, Assistant Secretary General and Chairman of Independent Members, The International Association for the Protection of Intellectual Property (AIPPI)

Member, The BIP Asia Steering Committee (2021), HKTDC

Member and IP Committee, The Law Society of Hong Kong

Member, The Law Society of England and Wales

Member, The Asia Patent Attorneys Association (APAA)

Member, The Hong Kong Institute of Trade Mark Practitioners (HKITMP)

Adjunct Associate Professor, Faculty of Law, The University of Hong Kong

Jurisdiction Council Member for Hong Kong and Co-Chair of the Organising Committee of the 2015 Annual Meeting, The Inter-Pacific Bar Association (IPBA)

LLB (Hons), University of Hong Kong

PCLL, University of Hong Kong