Anan Sivananthan

I am an Intellectual Property litigation partner in Singapore, where my commercial insights into our clients' needs enable me to effectively manage IP litigation matters in Singapore and the ASEAN region.

I have extensive experience in Patent litigation, Patent management and monetisation, Trademark litigation, Geographical Indications disputes and other high value IP dispute resolution matters. I am also experienced in managing anti-counterfeiting issues.

Over the years, I have been Lead Counsel in major Patent lawsuits in Singapore and have also handled patent disputes internationally, all across various sectors, specifically Technology and Life Sciences & Healthcare.

I have also been Lead Counsel in many Trademark lawsuits in Singapore and managed Trademark disputes internationally. I have also managed many Trademark oppositions/cancellations and anti-counterfeiting cases in the ASEAN region. All these matters span many sectors, including Technology, Life Sciences & Healthcare, Retail & Consumer, Hospitality and Entertainment.

More recently, I have handled disputes in Singapore concerning Geographical Indications, appearing as Lead Counsel in ground-breaking cases before Singapore's High Court and Court of Appeal.
I also handle Copyright and Design disputes, and manage IP commercialisation projects for clients (from due diligence to filing to exploitation).

Before joining our firm in 2017, I was associate vice president at a large technology company, where I oversaw the company's legal matters on a global basis, with a focus on worldwide IP litigation, registration and enforcement, as well as all other contentious matters. I handled a number of patent lawsuits in the US (at the US International Trade Commission and in various District Courts), and in Europe. I also managed trademark disputes across the globe, including trademark lawsuits and oppositions/ cancellations in the US, Canada, the UK, France, Germany, Turkey, China, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, New Zealand and Australia. I also acted as an adviser to senior management on key legal moves and decisions, including the monetisation of the company's patent portfolio.

I am also a regular public speaker and panellist on IP issues including patent and trade mark litigation, brand management, counterfeiting, and the commercialisation of intellectual property. I sit in various IP Rights and Life Sciences committees of trade bodies and have co-authored a number of articles concerning developments in the Patent Linkage (pharma) space in Singapore.

• Handled various patent and trademark lawsuits and anti-countefeiting matters from 1993-2000 when at a previous law firm. Some examples are:
• Acting on behalf of the Attorney General, we were successful in obtaining an order for the conviction of a countefeiter of Hennessy XO. This was the first time in Singapore that a first-time counterfeiter was sent to jail.
• Acting for a patent owner (V-Pile Technology) in Singapore's first full patent litigation trial. The case went on appeal to the Court of Appeal, and I worked with Queen's Counsel (Peter Prescott) on the appeal papers.
• Worked on patent and trade mark disputes whilst in-house at Creative Technology:
• A US patent infringement case against Apple in 2006. The case eventually settled, with Apple paying Creative US$100M.
• A multi-jurisdictional patent fight with a large patent troll in relation to MP3 patents: there were parallel lawsuits in the US, Italy, Germany and Holland, and various patent invalidation actions filed in response.
• A US patent lawsuit against two tech giants in 2014; the case settled, with both entities taking a license to the asserted patents.
• A US patent lawsuit against major graphics companies in 2016, the case settled, the relevant entities taking a license.
• Handling the defence in a patent lawsuit filed against Celltrion Healthcare, manufacturer of Biosimilars.
• Managing trademark infringement cases in South East Asia on behalf of a large beer manufacturer.
• Handling the defence in a patent lawsuit filed against Novartis Singapore.
• Defending against various challenges to the FETA Geographical Indication in Singapore.

• Trade Facilities Pte Ltd and others v Public Prosecutor [1995] 2SLR(R) 7 (counterfeit Hennessy XO)
• V-Pile Technology SA v Peck Brothers Construction Pte Ltd [2000] 3SLR 358 (first full patent trial in Singapore)
• Bradley Lomas Electrolok Ltd v Colt Ventilation East Asia Pte Ltd [2000] 1SLR 673 (fire curtain patent)
• Genentech Inc and others v Celltrion HealthcareSingapore Pte Ltd [2017] (pharmaceutical patents)