Celia Cheah
Biography
Celia heads the Intellectual Property Practice at Wong & Partners. She has over two decades of experience in the area of intellectual property (IP) prosecution.
Throughout her career, she has assisted numerous clients in the creation, protection, commercialisation and enforcement of intellectual property, including trademarks, patents, industrial designs and copyrights. She has represented clients from a diverse range of sectors, including F&B, consumer goods and retail, luxury goods and pharmaceuticals, amongst others.
As a registered trademarks and industrial designs agent, Celia possesses significant experience in advising on IP prosecution and commercial IP matters. She is also experienced in registration and transactional work such as licensing, franchising and brand strategy.
Celia is ranked for Intellectual Property by Chambers Asia Pacific and is recognised with a Silver Band ranking in Prosecution & Strategy (Malaysia) by the World Trademark Review 1000. She is also recognised as a Recommended practitioner in Transactions by the World Trademark Review.
Representative Legal Matters
- Assisted a popular Malaysian-based snack company with interests in the manufacturing, marketing and distribution of snack foods, beverages and other products in managing their trademark registration portfolios as well as coordinating their global trademark filings. The client exports its goods to around 100 countries.
- Assisted an e-commerce shopping platform based in Singapore, in our capacity as its trademark agent. The client has operations in Indonesia, Hong Kong, Thailand, Philippines, Australia, India and the United States, and functions to connect businesses with tools and services to operate in fashion.
- Assisted one of the largest security seal manufacturers in managing its global trademark, design and patent portfolio by ensuring that these intellectual property rights are maintained and protected worldwide.
- Assisted a Singaporean skincare company with a global footprint in managing its global trademark portfolio in various jurisdictions around the world and enforcing its rights.
- Assisted a South African systems integrator and managed services provider in our capacity as its trademark agent.
- Assisted a leading global insurance and financial services company in identifying and mitigating intellectual property risks associated with the deployment and use of artificial intelligence tools, including copyright ownership and infringement issues relating to AI training data.
- Assisted a world-renowned toy and juvenile-products retailer in several trademark opposition matters in Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei.
- Successfully assisted a leading multinational tobacco company in defending its trademark application in opposition proceedings, securing registration and exclusive rights to a strategically significant brand in Malaysia.
- Successfully represented a leading Thai food products manufacturer in defending the registration of its trademark in opposition proceedings, securing confirmation of its exclusive rights after successfully overcoming claims of confusing similarity, deception, and lack of proprietorship.
- Successfully represented a world-renowned professional sports league in opposition proceedings against a confusingly similar trademark application, securing the refusal of the application and protecting the distinctiveness and commercial value of its established brand portfolio.
Professional Honors
- Ranked for Intellectual Property by Chambers Asia Pacific
- Silver Band in Prosecution & Strategy (Malaysia) by the World Trademark Review 1000
- Recommended in Transactions by the World Trademark Review
Professional Associations and Memberships
- Malaysian Bar - Member
- Kuala Lumpur Bar - Member
- Trademarks Standing Committee of Asian Patent Attorneys Association - Member
- Domain Name Disputes Resolution of AIAC - Panelist
Admissions
- Advocate and Solicitor, High Court of Malaya
Education
- University of London (LL.B.)
Languages
- Bahasa Malaysia
- Cantonese
- English
- Mandarin