Profiles - WIPO Mediation and Arbitration Workshop

Philipp Groz is a dispute resolution partner at the Swiss law firm Schellenberg Wittmer, where he is the head of the IP team and the co-head of the life sciences team. He regularly represents clients in domestic and international litigation, arbitration and mediation proceedings with a focus on disputes related to IP, life sciences, unfair competition, licensing, R&D, and distribution. He also regularly sits as an arbitrator. Philipp is listed as a neutral with the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center and is a board member of Licensing Executives Society Switzerland. Philipp is also a member of the WIPO Mediation and Arbitration Advisory Committee and of AIPPI's Standing Committee on ADR. He is recognized, inter alia, in Who's Who Legal's Arbitration rankings as a leading practitioner at the cross-section between IP and arbitration. Philipp graduated from the law school of the University of Zurich and also earned a Master of Laws (LL.M.) from NYU Law.

Chung Nian Lam heads the Intellectual Property, Technology & Media, Telecommunications and Data Protection Practices at WongPartnership LLP, a leading Singapore law firm.

He has extensive experience representing multinational companies, listed corporations and government clients on regulatory, transactional, enforcement and advisory matters. He is a leading practitioner in his areas of expertise, having won many awards and accolades.

He is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and has been appointed as an IP Adjudicator empowered to hear disputes before the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore, as well as to the Singapore International Arbitration Centre’s Panel of Arbitrators for IP Disputes, and the World Intellectual Property Organization Panel of Film and Media Mediators, Arbitrators and Experts, among others. He is admitted to the Singapore Bar and to the Roll of Solicitors of England & Wales and is also a registered patent agent in Singapore.

Kathleen Paisley is a recognised international arbitrator and mediator. She is triple qualified in law, finance and accounting, with a JD from the Yale Law School, an MBA in finance and has completed the CPA exam. Kathleen has acted in commercial cases under all the major international arbitration rules and in investor-State cases before ICSID and under the UNCITRAL rules. She is an expert in IP, technology, pharmaceuticals and bio-technology, data-protection and cybersecurity, as well as having a sophisticated understanding of finance and accounting-related issues. She has also acted as chief legal officer in both technology and pharmaceutical companies. In addition to her commercial and corporate experience, she is also recognised in both public and private international law having acted in investor-State cases for more than 25 years.

Joyce A. Tan is Senior Adviser with LVM Law Chambers LLC where she practises as Advocate & Solicitor in Singapore. Over the long years of her legal practice, she has consistently been recognised as a leading lawyer by numerous legal publications including Legal 500, Chambers, AsiaLaw Leading Lawyers, Practical Law Company, International Who’s Who of Regulatory Communications Lawyers, International Who’s Who of Internet, E-Commerce & Data Protection Lawyers, Global Communications, Guide to the World’s Leading Technology, Media & Telecommunications Lawyers, Global Counsel 3000, Global Law Experts, The Best Lawyers and Acritas Stars and has been recognised in the A-List of Singapore’s Top 100 Lawyers by Asia Business law Journal.

Her longevity in legal practice, particularly in the field of corporate commercial and IP and TMT transactions where she pioneered many cutting-edge deals of its time, found her typically advising on transactions where “the money follows the tech” or “the tech follows the money”, including on the formulation of corporate finance structures and instruments sensitive to the relationship between investments and the performance of technology, and involving the use of innovative technology at the frontiers of evolving business models. Her subject matter expertise in the IP and TMT space has also been validated by her appointment as expert witness on domain names and cybersquatting in legal proceedings before the Supreme Court of Singapore, which led to a precedent-setting judgement in which she was heavily quoted.

All this has placed her in a particularly optimal position to navigate commercial and technical disputes arising in this area. A serial mediator in the resolution of cross-border IP and technology disputes, Joyce is a strong advocate of and deft at leveraging the unique opportunities presented by mediation in the resolution of such disputes. Here, she brings to bear her deep and wide experience in bridging the intricacies of IP ownership and protection in a large variety of corporate and commercial frameworks and structures, and across multiple jurisdictions.

She is credited for her work in the successful mediation of an international dispute involving IP rights spanning six jurisdictions, which the World Trademark review reported as “groundbreaking” and that “could redefine the trade mark status quo”. Her mediation work has extended to disputes involving cross-border trade mark rights, copyright, passing off, TMT procurement, commercial matters and personal rights, including those arising from proceedings before the Supreme Court and the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore and under the Singapore Domain Name Resolution Policy.

Spreading the word on the convincing potential of mediation in this space, Joyce has delivered numerous lectures and conducted training sessions on this subject to far-reaching audiences across the globe, including training sessions for the Judiciary of Tanzania, the Judges of the Thai Central Intellectual Property and International Trade Court and the annual Mediation and Arbitration Workshop of the World Intellectual Property Organization (“WIPO”), and is a member of the WIPO Mediation and Arbitration Advisory Committee. Joyce is also the sole author of the WIPO publication titled Alternative Dispute Resolution Options – A Guide for IP Offices and Courts which was sponsored by the Korean Intellectual Property Office and has since been translated from the original English version to five other languages, viz. Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian and Spanish.