Celia is a Partner of Christopher & Lee Ong ("CLO") and Head of CLO’s Intellectual Property & Intangible Assets Practice.

Over the past two decades, Celia has built a strong intellectual property ("IP") practice, drawing from her wealth of experience in assisting clients in the creation, protection, commercialisation and enforcement of IP which includes trademarks, patents, industrial designs, copyrights, and more.

As an IP practitioner and registered trademarks agent, Celia’s depth of expertise includes advising on IP prosecution and commercial matters, with a focus on registration and transactional work such as licensing, franchising, and brand strategy.

She has represented clients from across a wide range of sectors, including F&B, consumer goods and services, luxury goods and pharmaceuticals, to name a few.

In addition to her legal practice, Celia has demonstrated her commitment to advancing IP rights by serving as the President of Licensing Executives Society Malaysia (LESM). She is also fluent in Mandarin and Cantonese.

Celia is ranked by prestigious legal directories and guides such as Chambers & Partners Asia-Pacific and World IP Review. Most recently, Celia was recommended as a Silver practitioner in Prosecution & Strategy (Malaysia) by the World Trademark Review.

Experience

Intellectual Property

• Assisted an F&B brand name in Taiwan in strategising their branding and trademarks portfolio in line with their business needs and growth. Further advised on their trademark ownership in Malaysia and assisted them in reclaiming their trademark ownership from a former licensee.
• Assisted a popular Malaysia-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 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 well-known fashion designer in Malaysia in protecting his fashion brand name, trademark, and trademark portfolio.
• Assisted a Singaporean skincare company which international operations in formulating strategies and responding to queries and objections from the relevant IP Offices for registration of their trademarks.
• Assisted a Singaporean skincare company in brand creation and crafting a distinctive identifier for the client.
• Assisted a world renowned cosmetic and skincare company headquartered in Germany in several trademark opposition matters both locally and in various jurisdictions.
• 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 a world renowned toy and juvenile-products retailer in several trademark opposition matters in Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei.
• Assisted a popular cosmetics brand known for its halal-certified products catering to Muslims consumers in protecting their trademarks in Malaysia, Brunei Darussalam and Singapore, including defending their trademark against opposition by one of the world’s largest cosmetics and beauty companies.
• Assisted a South African systems integrator and managed services provider in our capacity as its trademark agent.
• Assisted an American designer and manufacturer of well completion technology in oil and energy industry in our capacity as its trademark agent.
• Assisted a local manufacturer of building materials in auditing and managing its trademark portfolio across the Southeast Asian region.
• Assisted in the setting up of the MYDRP, including drawing up the MYNIC’s Domain Name Dispute Policy, Rules and Supplemental Rules.
• Assisted clients in providing advice, opinion and strategy in relation to matters such as branding, copyright, trademarks, design, patents and confidential information.
• Assisted clients in setting up a licensing regime, formulating a licensing policy and implementing the licensing regime.
• Assisted clients in negotiating and preparing the franchising documentations and registration.
• Assisted in overseeing, coordinating and executing criminal raids with law enforcement officers for trademark infringement of automobile parts and accessories, alcoholic beverages luxury goods and perfumery.
• Assisted in conducting watch and monitoring services on trademarks as well as counterfeiting products.
• Advised on various IP infringements on the Internet such as illegal dissemination of copyrighted content and the sale of counterfeit goods over the Internet.
• Assisted in creating and formulating several anti-counterfeiting strategies against the sale and distribution of counterfeit products over the Internet.

Memberships / Directorships

• Member, Trademarks Standing Committee, Asian Patent Attorneys Association (APAA)
• Panellist, Domain Name Disputes Resolution, Asian International Arbitration Centre (AIAC)
• Past President, Licensing Executives Society Malaysia (LESM)