Ng Chong Yuan is a Singapore qualified Advocate & Solicitor and has diverse in-house work experience in technology businesses spanning over about a decade. Currently, as the Head of Faculty at IPOS International, he is teaching and speaking on practice and management courses covering intellectual property (IP) and trade secrets.
Prior to joining IP Academy, he was practising law at an international law firm, specializing in Intellectual Property (IP), Technology and Commercial Laws. As part of this legal practice, he focused on advising and representing clients on broad portfolios of patent and trademark rights covering many jurisdictions around the world, including USA, EU, CN, SG and AU. His clients included international manufacturing firms, technology firms, foreign law firms and government agencies. His practice experience included IP prosecution, IP court litigation and IP advisory work.
With an engineering training, Chong Yuan has also tutored and conducted research at the engineering school of a Singapore university. He is also an inventor of a USA patent (no. 6853626).
Mark Lim is a Director and Chief Legal Counsel at IPOS (the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore), where he heads the Hearings & Mediation Department.
He has more than 25 years of experience in intellectual property law. Prior to joining IPOS in 2010, Mark was a lawyer in private practice for 15 years. His work encompasses all areas of intellectual property (“IP”) law. He also has experience in international arbitration proceedings.
Mark is regularly consulted on IP matters by various government agencies and invited to speak at both national and international IP conferences.
At IPOS International's academy, Mark oversees the development and curation of training programmes in the area of IP law for the legal community and IP professionals, as well as the public sector in Singapore.
Mark has published many articles in both local and international law journals. He is a co-author of the chapter on Copyright in Halsbury's Laws of Singapore: Volume 13(3) - Intellectual property (2007 & 2018 Reissue, Lexis-Nexis, Singapore).
Mark is an Adjunct Professor at the National University of Singapore Faculty of Law. He currently co-teaches the module on Foundations of IP Law, where he covers the section on patents. He is also currently the Subject Coordinator for the IP Module for the Singapore Institute of Legal Education’s course for trainee lawyers.
Paul McClelland specialises in intellectual property law and commercial dispute resolution. Before joining IPOS International Pte Ltd, Paul was sole corporate counsel for a well-known Singaporean brand, where he was responsible for a broad range of commercial matters, including worldwide trademark registrations and oppositions, management of external counsel, contract review, and training.
He has experience working in private practice for both Singapore and Scottish law firms. His practice focused on intellectual property and commercial arbitration.
He also taught commercial law, intellectual property and real estate law at a Scottish university.
Eric Khoo heads the Global Engagement at IPOS International, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore. Eric oversees the expansion of IPOS International into key global markets, providing advisory and solutions to private enterprises and governments on intellectual property (IP) creation, commercialisation and management.
Prior to IPOS International, Eric led the IP and Science Solution Consulting team (Southeast Asia) at Clarivate Analytics, advising clients on their IP challenges in R&D innovation and commercialisation. He also represented the media conglomerate in high level industry conferences and exhibitions and engaged key opinion leaders in research discovery and IP related sectors. In his time with Hewlett Packard, Eric handled IP portfolio management and technology licensing, with a focus on strategic analyses of major technology companies to identify cross licensing opportunities, uncover patent acquisition targets and convert IP assets for sale.
Eric holds a Bachelor of Engineering from Nanyang Technological University and Graduate Certificate in Intellectual Property from IP Academy in collaboration with the National University of Singapore. He is also a qualified Project Management professional and a certified WSQ ACLP trainer.
Morgan Cao is Senior Assistant Director of Global Engagement at IPOS International. He brings his experience in transnational business expansion to his current role in helping enterprises and research institutes succeed through IP strategy, management and commercialisation.
Prior to joining IPOS International, Morgan led a regional IP solution sales team at Thomson Reuters / Clarivate Analytics, supporting clients throughout their innovation journey from discovery to commercialisation. During his professional career in China, Morgan practised law at a leading law firm and IP firm in Guangdong.
Morgan holds a Master of Laws from the Sun Yat-Sen University, a Bachelor of Pharmaceutical Science from the Xinjiang Medical University, and has obtained the China National Legal Profession Qualification. He was also awarded the IP Management certification by the WIPO Academy and WSQ Advanced Certificate in Learning and Performance (WSQ ACLP).
Dr Jie Xiao is a Patent Examiner at IPOS International for over eight years, specializing in biotechnology and medical devices.
She holds a PhD in Biomedical Engineering from the School of Medicine at Johns Hopkins University. Prior to joining IPOS International, she has conducted postdoctoral research in Oxford University and University College London. She has authored 20+ peer-reviewed journal papers and conference proceedings/abstracts, 11 of which are first-authored.
Dr Huang Jinquan has over a decade of experience in national and industry-wide technology landscape scans and R&D planning. He specialises in applying patent analytics to identify key trends and R&D and business opportunities for organisations. He also provides consultancy and expert advice in IP and business strategy to government-linked companies and local enterprises.
Jinquan holds a Ph.D. in Electrical & Computer Engineering and has a strong technical background in semiconductors, nanomaterials, nanotechnology, and smart technologies. He is also well-versed in technology assessment, intellectual property strategy and portfolio management. He has advised various government agencies including the Prime Minister Office, National Research Foundation, and Ministry of National Development, on R&D planning with actionable technology intelligence.
Dr Sun Ting has over five years of rich experience in patent analytics. He helped lead a series of technology landscape projects, drawing pivotal insights on emerging technologies and identifying R&D opportunities for government agencies and local research institutes. In his advisory role, he applies patent analytics to help enterprises shape their IP strategy, map out competitors or collaborators, and make key business decisions.
Prior to his current role, Sun Ting was also a Patent Examiner at IPOS for over two years. He holds a PhD in Material Science and Engineering from Nanyang Technological University, and was a post-doc research fellow specialising in thin films and nanomaterials for various applications.
Dr Bernice Oh has over five years of experience in providing consultancy to organisations using patent analytics to support their innovation and strategic business decisions. She provides clear and actionable intelligence to empower clients in their business decisions, such as to ‘make’ or ‘buy’, R&D road mapping, and identifying potential partners or investment targets.
Bernice also advises local and global enterprises on intellectual property management and strategy. Prior to her current role, Bernice was a Patent Examiner at IPOS, specialising in patent applications relating to pharmaceuticals, biomaterials, biomedical devices, and formulations.
Bernice is a Registered Management Consultant (RMC). She holds a Specialist Certificate in Intangible Asset Management, and a Ph.D. in Chemical and Biomedical Engineering from the Nanyang Technological University, and the Imperial College London, UK.
Joseph Yang brings a wealth of experience from intellectual property (IP) law firms and technology transfer office to his current role at IPOS International.
In his previous positions in the law firms, Joseph utilised his expertise in patent drafting and prosecution, effectively assisting clients in protecting their inventions through patent applications.
During his stint at the technology transfer office, Joseph played a vital role in successfully commercialising numerous technologies. He also actively participated in the innovation and venture creation programme where he provided startups with invaluable IP strategy advice. Leveraging his extensive IP knowledge and industry experience, he now advises companies on how to strategically use IP to achieve their business objectives.
Joseph is a Registered Management Consultant (RMC) and holds a Bachelor's Degree in Electrical Engineering, a Graduate Certificate in IP Law (GCIP) and a Master of Science in IP Management.
Cynthia Chong has several years of intellectual property (IP) law firm experience assisting clients in protecting their brands, trademarks and designs. She was part of the IP practice group of top international law firms where she assisted companies across various industries on IP prosecution, branding, and litigation matters.
Before joining IPOS International, Cynthia also gained experience working in-house at an international gaming company. Cynthia leverages her experiences to assist enterprises in developing IP management strategies.
Cynthia holds a Master of IP and Innovation Management from the Singapore University of Social Sciences, a Practitioner Certificate in Personal Data Protection (Singapore) issued by the Personal Data Protection Commission and a certificate in Compliance issued by the International Compliance Association.
Benjamin Variyan has experience advising clients on various intellectual property (IP) issues. Prior to joining IPOS International, he was involved in the IP practice group of a law firm where he assisted companies across different industries on IP prosecution, IP litigation and franchising matters. He was also part of a boutique IP firm where he helped companies with trademark enforcement and strategy advice.
Benjamin holds a Bachelor of Laws Degree from the University of Hertfordshire and is qualified to practise law in Malaysia.