GFIP
Mr Edwin Tong, SC is Minister for Law and Second Minister for Home Affairs.
As Minister for Law, Mr Tong leads efforts to uphold the rule of law, strengthen Singapore’s legal framework, and advance access to justice. He also advances Singapore’s position as an international hub for legal services, dispute resolution, intellectual property, and restructuring and insolvency. For his work in reforming Singapore’s copyright and IP law, Mr Tong was recognised to be amongst the 50 most influential people in IP by Managing IP in 2021 and 2022.
Before entering public service, Mr Tong spent his entire professional career at Allen & Gledhill LLP. He held concurrent leadership roles as Head of the Restructuring and Corporate Insolvency Department, Co-Head of the Litigation & Dispute Resolution Department, and member of the Executive Committee. Widely acknowledged to be a leading lawyer of the Singapore Bar, he was appointed Senior Counsel in 2015.
The Honourable Dr Annabelle Bennett AC SC studied Science at the University of Sydney, where she completed a PhD in cell biology before studying law at UNSW and practising as a barrister, later specialising in intellectual property.
Between 2003 and 2016 Dr Bennett served as a Judge of the Federal Court of Australia, sitting on many intellectual property cases at first instance and on appeal. She has also served as President of the Copyright Tribunal of Australia. Dr Bennett is the former Chair of WIPO’s Advisory Board of Judges. She is an Arbitrator with the Court of Arbitration for Sport and practises as a mediator and arbitrator.
Justice Dedar Singh Gill was appointed Judicial Commissioner of the Supreme Court on 1 August 2018 and High Court Judge on 1 August 2020.
Prior to his judicial appointments Justice Gill held the position of Managing Director of the Intellectual Property Department at Messrs. Drew and Napier LLC. He had appeared as counsel before the High Court and Court of Appeal for major corporate clients and had established a considerable reputation for his expertise and experience in intellectual property law.
Justice Gill was appointed by Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon to manage the Intellectual Property (IP) list of the High Court and implement the recommendations submitted by the IP Dispute Resolution Framework Review Committee to review the Intellectual Property dispute resolution system in Singapore.
Justice Gill was appointed as a member of the WIPO Advisory Board of Judges for the 2023-2024 term.
Dr. Klaus Grabinski is President of the Court of Appeal and Chairperson of the Presidium of the Unified Patent Court since November 2022.
Before he served on the German Federal Court of Justice's 10th Civil Division that has, inter alia, jurisdiction on patent litigation matters, including as the Deputy Presiding Justice of the Division. Prior to joining the German Federal Court of Justice in 2009, he held a number of judicial roles, including as a presiding judge of a patent litigation division at the Düsseldorf Regional Court and as a judge at the Düsseldorf Higher Regional Court.
He is co-author of a commentary on the European Patent Convention (Benkard, Europäisches Patentübereinkommen, 4th edition, 2023), a commentary on the German Patent Act (Benkard, Patentgesetz, 12th edition, 2023) and gives talks and takes part in panels at national and international conferences on IP matters. He was an external legally qualified member of the Enlarged Board of Appeal of the European Patent Office.
Mark is a Director and Chief Legal Counsel at IPOS, where he heads the Hearings & Mediation Department. He also leads a team at IPOS which looks into how to position Singapore as a preferred venue for the resolution of IP and technology disputes.
He has almost 30 years of experience in IP law. Prior to joining IPOS in 2010, Mark was a lawyer in private practice for 15 years. His work encompasses all areas of IP law. He also has experience in international arbitration proceedings.
He is an Adjunct Professor at the NUS Faculty of Law, where he co-teaches a module on IP Arbitration. He 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).
As a partner with extensive experience in Strategy and Transactions at Ernst & Young Solutions LLP, Andre leads the Valuation, Modeling & Economics teams for Southeast Asia and the wider Asia-Pacific region. He is also the EY Asean Strategy and Transactions market segment leader for Government & Public Sector.
He speaks regularly in forums and conferences on valuations and has written various articles on this topic. He assists clients in their capital agendas when looking at advanced decision modeling, business sustainability and valuations. Additionally, he has appeared as an expert in court as well as in arbitration.
Andre is a Chartered Accountant with the Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants, Fellow with CPA Australia, and Chartered Valuer and Appraiser with the Institute of Valuers and Appraisers of Singapore.
Gilbert Tan is Regional IP Counsel at Yokogawa Electric Corporation, based in Singapore, where he leads intellectual property strategy and operations across Asia. His work focuses on cross-border IP matters, with particular emphasis on China, including patent prosecution, licensing, enforcement, and regulatory risk management. With over 15 years of experience in IP management, Gilbert has been involved in patent portfolio development, commercialization, litigation support, and M&A due diligence. He works closely with business and engineering teams to align IP strategies with evolving market and technological developments. More recently, he has been actively engaged in anti-counterfeiting initiatives, as well as software patent prosecution and IP matters relating to AI and machine learning.
Prior to his IP career, Gilbert spent nearly two decades in the semiconductor industry as an IC design engineer and R&D manager, and is an inventor with over 40 US patents. He holds a PhD from Osaka University, an LLB from the University of London, and a GCIP from NUS.
Dr Stanley Lai, SC is the Head of Allen & Gledhill's Intellectual Property Practice and Co-Head of the Cybersecurity & Data Protection Practice.
Dr Stanley Lai is an experienced Senior Counsel who specialises in all forms of IP litigation/arbitration and information technology disputes and is also a commercial litigator and SIAC Arbitrator. He has argued many significant cases before the Singapore Courts as well as the Singapore International Commercial Court, spanning a range of different subject areas. He also maintains a strong advisory practice for IP/data management and cybersecurity, serving a broad spectrum of clients. In the sphere of artificial intelligence, Stanley continues to advise clients on issues relating to intellectual property, data protection, content regulation as well as legal tech. Stanley currently serves as the Deputy President of the Copyright Tribunal and sits on the panel of Arbitrators in the Singapore International Arbitration Centre, specializing in the intellectual property disputes. He is an author of many published journal articles and was the first Singapore born lawyer to be conferred a PhD by the University of Cambridge (UK). Stanley has formerly served as the Chairman of the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS). He was awarded the Public Service Medal (Pingat Bakit Masyarakat) in 2020, and the Public Service Star (Bintang Bakti Masyarakat) in 2024. On 31 August 2022, Stanley was conferred the Singapore Academy of Law Merit Award. Stanley was appointed Senior Counsel in 2010.
Daryl Lim is the H. Laddie Montague Jr. Chair in Law at Penn State Dickinson Law. He is also the Associate Dean for Research and Strategic Partnerships and Founding Director of the Intellectual Property (IP) Law and Innovation Initiative. At the university level, he is a co-hire at the Institute of Computational and Data Sciences and was appointed to its Research Council in 2025. He is also an affiliate at the Center for Socially Responsible Artificial Intelligence.
He is an award-winning author, observer, and commentator on IP and competition policy trends and how they influence and are influenced by law, technology, economics, and politics. He helps stakeholders understand the world around them. He consults internationally on various IP and antitrust issues.
He is a founding member of the Global IP Alliance and its local chapters in Pennsylvania and Illinois. He founded the Practicing Law Institute’s Global IP Spotlight series and the Penn State Dickinson Law Profiles in Leadership series and serves as anchor for both.
Opening Address by Guest-of-Honour
Mr Murali Pillai, SC was appointed as Senior Minister of State on 23 May 2025. He is a third term Member of Parliament (“MP”) serving in Jurong East- Bukit Batok Group Representative Constituency (“GRC”).
He graduated with LL.B. (Hons) from National University of Singapore (NUS) in 1992. He holds an LLM from the same university. He has a double MBA degree from University of California, Los Angeles (“UCLA”) and NUS. He is a Fellow of Singapore Academy of Law and the Singapore Institute of Arbitrators (“FSIArb”). He is also a Member of Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (“MCIArb”). In addition, he is an Associate Member of the Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants (“ISCA Associate”).
He had an extensive litigation practice for almost 30 years. He was appointed Senior Counsel (“SC”) in 2020. Prior to practising law, he was a senior police officer with the Singapore Police Force, investigating white-collar crime.
Gilbert Tan is Regional IP Counsel at Yokogawa Electric Corporation, based in Singapore, where he leads intellectual property strategy and operations across Asia. His work focuses on cross-border IP matters, with particular emphasis on China, including patent prosecution, licensing, enforcement, and regulatory risk management. With over 15 years of experience in IP management, Gilbert has been involved in patent portfolio development, commercialization, litigation support, and M&A due diligence. He works closely with business and engineering teams to align IP strategies with evolving market and technological developments. More recently, he has been actively engaged in anti-counterfeiting initiatives, as well as software patent prosecution and IP matters relating to AI and machine learning.
Prior to his IP career, Gilbert spent nearly two decades in the semiconductor industry as an IC design engineer and R&D manager, and is an inventor with over 40 US patents. He holds a PhD from Osaka University, an LLB from the University of London, and a GCIP from NUS.
Daniel Dougherty is a Senior Director with Alibaba where he leads the international Global IP Enforcement team's Asia Pacific efforts. Prior to joining Alibaba, Daniel served as Vice President & General Counsel for an international consumer electronics company. He has also held roles at other multinational e-commerce and technology companies managing global teams having responsibility for litigation and dispute resolution, IP portfolio prosecution and management, domain portfolio management, and brand protection.
The American Lawyer has named Daniel as one of the 25 Most Influential People in the United States in Intellectual Property. Daniel recently chaired the American Bar Association's Anti-Counterfeiting & Piracy Committee and currently sits as an expert on the European IP Office (EUIPO) Observatory's Cooperation with Intermediaries Expert Group.
Wendi Backler is a Partner and Director at the Boston Consulting Group and leads BCG's Intellectual Property (IP) strategy and value creation topic globally, helping clients expand their business and fuel growth through IP, innovation and technology. Wendi co-founded BCG's Technology Ventures business, aiding clients to commercialize and extract value from their IP and technology assets. For over 20 years, she has advised leading global players on IP, growth and innovation strategy in industries such as health sciences, high-tech, automotive, energy, and consumer goods. Additionally, Wendi founded and leads BCG's Center for Growth & Innovation Analytics, using proprietary technologies and innovation data to identify growth opportunities, partnerships, acquisition candidates, and broader innovation trends. Beyond BCG, she has lectured and written on open innovation and innovation ecosystems, including at MIT and the East West Center in Hawaii.
Daniel Dougherty is a Senior Director with Alibaba where he leads the international Global IP Enforcement team's Asia Pacific efforts. Prior to joining Alibaba, Daniel served as Vice President & General Counsel for an international consumer electronics company. He has also held roles at other multinational e-commerce and technology companies managing global teams having responsibility for litigation and dispute resolution, IP portfolio prosecution and management, domain portfolio management, and brand protection.
The American Lawyer has named Daniel as one of the 25 Most Influential People in the United States in Intellectual Property. Daniel recently chaired the American Bar Association's Anti-Counterfeiting & Piracy Committee and currently sits as an expert on the European IP Office (EUIPO) Observatory's Cooperation with Intermediaries Expert Group.
As CEO of SGInnovate, Dr Lim Jui has overall leadership of the organisation that is committed to helping entrepreneurial scientists build and scale Deep Tech startups. At SGInnovate, Jui and his team work closely with a wide range of partners and co-investors to back this unique group of founders, who are looking to solve global challenges with their research-based solutions. This is done through equity-based investments, access to the Deep Tech ecosystem and talent network, as well as by providing business-building support.
He currently serves on the advisory boards of IPOS International, the business arm of the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS), and several start-up companies.
Jui received his Bachelor of Arts (BA, Biological Sciences and East Asian Studies) and Doctor of Medicine (MD) at Columbia University. He then obtained his Master of Medicine (Anaesthesiology and Surgical Intensive Care) from NUS. He remains a registered medical practitioner today.
Tony Yeo is the Managing Director of Drew & Napier's Intellectual Property (IP) practice, and a Director in its Dispute Resolution department. He also heads the firm's Healthcare & Life Sciences practice.
With over 30 years of experience, Tony is a litigator with an active court practice as an advocate. He has acted as lead counsel in many complex cross-border matters, including numerous patent infringement proceedings. Tony's expertise lies in litigation, in particular, IP litigation and enforcement comprising patent, trade mark and copyright.
He was one of the select few IP practitioners appointed by the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS) as an IP Adjudicator to adjudicate disputes at IPOS for a two-year term from April 2019. Tony is also the President of the International Association for the Protection of Intellectual Property – Singapore Group, and Honorary Legal Counsel for both Orchard Road Business Association and Singapore Advertisers Association.
Jonathan Choo is currently an Independent Arbitrator and Mediator after having spent the last two decades in international firms handling a broad range of high-value international disputes. He is dual-qualified as an Advocate and Solicitor in Singapore and a Solicitor in England & Wales.
Jonathan is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and currently serves as Vice-Chair of its Singapore Branch. He is regularly appointed as Arbitrator, including as Presiding Arbitrator, by the world's leading arbitral institutions.
Jonathan is also a sought-after Mediator with a strong track record of successfully mediating general commercial disputes. He is a Specialist Mediator with the Singapore International Mediation Centre and has also been appointed by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore to mediate IP disputes.
Jonathan recently established Vantage Chambers LLC, an independent Singapore law firm focussed on promoting the use of Appropriate Dispute Resolution.
Chuan Thye is a Senior Counsel of the Supreme Court of Singapore and a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators.
Chuan Thye has a broad commercial, corporate and financial dispute resolution practice as lead counsel in various court and arbitration proceedings. The practice has a wide geographical scope, and he represents a range of domestic and international entities. He has been recognised by leading publications – such as Chambers Global. He also practices in the restructuring and insolvency space, and is an editor of the banking volume of Halsbury’s Laws of Singapore.
Apart from his work as lead counsel, Chuan Thye has sat on a significant number of arbitration proceedings both as sole arbitrator and as part of a tribunal. He is on the panel of arbitrators of the SIAC, the ICC, and other regional institutions.
He is currently chair of the Singapore branch of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and a council member of the ICC Institute.
