News & Insights

Our Partners Jevon Louis and Jaswin Kaur Khosa contributed to an article by ASIA IP Magazine on green claims in respect of trademarks and the risks of greenwashing.

The sustainability movement has sparked a wave of eco-conscious investments across brands. While celebrating these achievements is natural, regulators are keeping a close eye on greenwashing or the inclusion of or association with unsubstantiated environmental claims. In this regard, trademarks, indications of origin and certification marks have an important role to play, giving consumers confidence that products and services comply with verifiable sustainability standards.

Click here to view the article.

Asia has emerged as the largest source of emissions globally and Southeast Asia is also one of the most at-risk regions. Addressing climate change is therefore a matter of particular urgency for ASEAN and its companies. However, it has been estimated the region will need to raise capital of over US$50 billion over the next few years to fund the green transition.[1] With Singapore as a leading investment and financial hub in Asia, banks in Singapore, can and arguably should go beyond financing activities that are already aligned with a green economy to also finance the real-economy activities that are not yet aligned but are in transition to becoming so aligned. This update offers an overview of the increasing imperative for climate transition planning for corporates, and how banks can responsibly navigate the challenges and pitfalls of financing the transition.

Click here to view the article.

A team comprising our Partner Sarjit Singh Gill, SC and Associates Daryl Cheng and Suresh Viswanath, successfully acted for Standard Chartered Bank (Singapore) Limited in defending an appeal brought by a beneficiary claiming payment of around US$30.4 million under a letter of credit. The Court of Appeal in Winson Oil Trading Pte Ltd v Oversea-Chinese […]

A Bill proposing changes to various laws to enhance Singapore’s anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism (“AML/CFT”) regime was read for the first time in the Singapore Parliament on 2 July 2024.

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We would like to congratulate our partners who have been recognised in the recently published Who’s Who Legal 2024 rankings in their respective areas.

Our Partner Claudia Khoo recently appeared on Money Talks with Andrea Heng on CNA podcast discussing bankruptcy and the impact it can have on one’s career and future.

Click here to listen to the podcast

We are delighted to be a contributing firm to the Singapore chapter of the Practical Law Global subscription by Thomson Reuters. The chapter was authored by our Partner Jevon Louis and Senior Associate Kuek Kai Liang.

The article discusses the transformation potential of artificial intelligence as the technology races ahead. Courts and regulators must address the interplay of patents and AI inventions.  Some key discussions include AI patenting trends, potential types of AI-related inventions, and key issues and best practices for obtaining patent protection for AI-related inventions. Also discussed are AI inventorship, novelty, inventive step, and potential infringement considerations for patents and applications claiming AI-related technology.

Click here to read the Singapore chapter.

We write to provide an update on the Health Sciences Authority’s (“HSA”) proposed legislative amendments to Regulation 23 (“Reg 23”) of the Health Products (Therapeutic Products) Regulations 2016 (“TPR”).

Our Partner Jevon Louis and Senior Associate Kuek Kai Liang, discuss more in this client update.

Click here to view the article.

In 2014, the English Court of Appeal in Salford Estates (No 2) Ltd v Altomart Ltd (No 2) [2015] Ch 589 (“Salford Estates”) held that a winding up petition brought based on a disputed debt subject to an arbitration agreement ought to be stayed or dismissed, save in “wholly exceptional circumstances”.

The Singapore Court of Appeal (“SGCA”) largely followed Salford Estates in AnAn Group (Singapore) Pte Ltd v VTB Bank (Public Joint Stock Co) [2020] 1 SLR 1158 (“AnAn v VTB”), and held that the Singapore courts will apply a prima facie standard of review when determining whether to stay or dismiss a winding up petition brought based on a disputed debt subject to an arbitration agreement.

In the recent judgment of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in Sian Participation Corp (in liquidation) v Halimeda International Ltd [2020] UKPC 16 (“Sian v Halimeda”), the Privy Council concluded that Salford Estates was wrongly decided. Instead, the Privy Council found that a winding up petition brought based on a disputed debt subject to an arbitration agreement ought to be stayed or dismissed only when the debt is disputed on genuine and substantial grounds.

The decision in Sian v Halimeda calls into question whether the AnAn test is correct, or whether it needs to be replaced with a different test.

Click here to view the article.