AI Magazine Issue 10 2018

Acquisition International - Issue 10 2018 33 C. K. Kwong JP (Justice of the Peace) is a Chartered Arbitrator and Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb London). Following his success in the Leading Adviser Awards 2018 as the Leading Commercial Arbitrator of the Year, China, we profiled Mr. Kwong to discover the secrets behind his remarkable success. K. Kwong JP proposed the idea of legislative guidance on arbitrability of IP rights which is accepted by the Hong Kong Government and now provided for in the Arbitration (Amendment) Ordinance 2017. It was part of his recommendations to the Government to further enhance the infrastructure for arbitration in Hong Kong to give Hong Kong an extra edge as an international arbitration hub. This legislative amendment is the most comprehensive piece of legislation (also bilingual being in both English and Chinese) on the arbitrability of IP rights issue in the world so far which has been favourably received by the arbitration community. Parties choosing Hong Kong law as the law governing the arbitration agreement, as the lex arbitri and/ or Hong Kong seat (legal place of arbitration), may avoid uncertainties over the arbitrability of IP rights. Clear statutory guidance is now given that disputes over intellectual property rights (including validity of registered rights) are arbitrable and that it is not contrary to the public policy of Hong Kong to enforce arbitral awards involving intellectual property rights. Mr. Kwong was Deputy Chairman of the Copyright Tribunal, member of the Administrative Appeals Board, Member of the Panel of the Inland Revenue Board of Review, Member of Steering Committee on Review of IP Issues in the Innovation & Technologies Sector. Under his care and guidance as a Senior Partner of Sit, Fung, Kwong & Shum (SFKS), SFKS filed Hong Kong’s very first registered design, standard and short-term patent applications when Hong Kong’s new patent and registered design laws became effective on 27th June 1997. SFKS also registered the first plant variety rights registration Contact: Kwong Chi Keung Company: Sit, Fung, Kwong & Shum Address: 9/F, York House, The Landmark 5 Queen’s Road Central Hong Kong Telephone: 00852 2909 7328 Web Address:www.sfks.com.hk C. K. Kwong of Hong Kong C. 1809AI43 in Hong Kong. The principle in See v. Scott-Paine (1933) (50 R. P. C. 56) was first introduced into Hong Kong’s jurisprudence when he obtained an Earth Closet Order in favour of the patentee in Re Wing Yick Bamboo Scaffolders vs. Wui Loong [2003] HKEC 985. In addition to this, Mr. Kwong is an International Past President of the Asian Patent Attorneys Association (APAA). His practice covers intellectual property (registration, licensing and enforcement of patent, design, copyright and trademark), injunction proceedings, arbitration, mediation, public and private corporate transactions, public listing, China projects and complex commercial litigation. Alongside this, he was also a member of the Hong Kong Government Advisory Committee on Patent System Reform and Convenor of its Working Group on InterimMeasures, member of the Working Group on Intellectual Property Trading and Convenor of its sub-group on IP Arbitration and Mediation. Lastly, Mr. Kwong Vice-Chairperson of the Special Committee on Evaluative Mediation set up by the Department of Justice and a Councilor of the Hong Kong Institute of Arbitrators. Mr. Kwong has been named a Leading Lawyer in Intellectual Property by Asia Law. “Mr. Kwong Vice-Chairperson of the Special Committee on Evaluative Mediation set up by the Department of Justice and a Councilor of the Hong Kong Institute of Arbitrators.”