Aaron Thng is a Director of Amica Law LLC. He specializes in emerging technology and intellectual property disputes. His in-depth understanding of Singapore and South-East Asian trade mark laws and enforcement procedures enable him to handle the full range of issues relating to branding and content around the region. He is especially well versed in litigating trade mark, copyright, confidential information, and domain name disputes as well as advising on contentious and strategic IP issues.

 

Aaron graduated with an LL.B (Hons) from the National University of Singapore and was called to the Singapore Bar in 2013.

 

Aaron comes recommended as a “Rising Star” and a “Notable Practitioner” by Managing Intellectual Property: IP STARS. He has also received favourable reviews in The Legal 500 (“Aaron Thng is an enthusiastic litigator. He has creative ideas on how to overcome problems and always has a good sense of humour”) and the World Trademark Review (“a confident litigator who is commercially aware when helping to resolve disputes”).  

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Experience

 

Representative matters which Aaron has been involved in include:

IP Litigation

• At all levels of the judiciary: from the Trade Marks Registry to the apex Court of Appeal.

• Headed a team representing Invisalign in an unfair advertising and trade mark infringement suit in the High Court against a direct-to-consumer orthodontic start-up. This case involved novel issues delimiting the scope of competitive advertising law

• First chair in a breach of confidence and breach of director’s duties suit in the High Court concerning trade secrets in chemical formulas used for the conversion of organic waste into biofuel

• First chair in a High Court appeal on behalf of the Scotch Whisky Association to block the registration of the deceptive trade mark “Isetan Tartan” for whisky on the basis that it would falsely denote a Scottish provenance

• Represented WeWork as part of a multi-jurisdictional trade mark infringement dispute against a Chinese co-working start-up

• Representing a hard disk manufacturer in a corporate espionage dispute before the High Court

• Representing the global molecular diagnostic company Vela Diagnostics in a High Court trade mark infringement suit against a statutory board

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Anti-Counterfeiting and Brand Protection

• Cross-border supply chain investigation, market surveillance, takedown and enforcement procedures, private prosecution, and associated anti-counterfeiting measures.

• Collaborated with the Singapore Police Force’s IP Rights Branch and the brand protection unit of a global luxury fashion house to investigate, authenticate, and restrain the importation and sale of counterfeit handbags in the region

• Implemented the long-term Singapore anti-counterfeiting strategy for a US-based entertainment and media enterprise. This involved market surveillance, liaising with the Singapore Customs, directing supply chain investigations, producing verification reports, and executing rapid takedown and enforcement procedures

• Under fiat from the Attorney-General’s Chambers, conducted a private prosecution against an importer and distributor of counterfeit sports gear

• Advised an American electric car manufacturer on the setting up of its Singapore anti-counterfeiting policies and processes, including in respect of border enforcement and civil and criminal remedies

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Regulatory & Compliance

• Encompassing all types of IP and related legislative regimes (e.g. emerging technologies, advertising, food labelling, IP licensing, etc).

• Advised a Dubai-based satellite-TV broadcaster on restraining the misuse of its signal overspill under the Copyright Act and Broadcasting Act as well as prosecuting breaches of its content license and exclusive-broadcast agreements. This exercise also included driving an investigation into suspected distributors of unauthorized decoders / set-top boxes and advising on the confiscation of benefits from criminal conduct

• Advised a Singapore telco on cross-border copyright liability issues relating to the provision of virtual private network (VPN) and IP-address masking services

• Advised an app store platform on its exposure to intermediary liability for authorizing copyright infringement in respect of apps developed by users or independent software vendors as well as the applicability of the network service provider safe harbour in the Copyright Act

• Advised a Chinese media company on copyright infringement and fair use issues surrounding the company’s use of user-generated content / videos to train its artificial intelligence (AI)–based machine-learning algorithm

• Advised a medical start-up on regulatory and privacy issues arising from the provision of online tele-consultation services, the first of its kind in Singapore

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Domain Name Recovery

Recovered numerous top-level and country-specific domain names for various domestic and international clients.

 

Trade Mark Portfolio Prosecution

Coordinated the global trade mark portfolios for a range of international clients. This involved preparing and filing applications, collaborating with foreign counsel on refusals and objections, directing oppositions, and surveilling for potentially prejudicial marks.

 

 

Memberships

 

Aaron volunteers as defence counsel for underprivileged criminal defendants as part of the Criminal Legal Aid Scheme administered by the Law Society of Singapore. Aaron also contributes regularly to various IP law journals, including the IP Kat blog, the World Trade Mark Review, and the Journal of the Intellectual Property Society of Australia & New Zealand.  

 

 

Key Practice Areas

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• Advertising & Consumer Protection

• Brands & IP Portfolio Management

• E-Commerce & Domain Names

• Entertainment & Media

• Information Technology

• Life Sciences

• Trade Marks, Patent, Design & Copyright Protection

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