AWA Asia
Firm overview:
Founded in 1897 by Swedish engineer Anders Wilhelm Anderson, AWA is an intellectual property firm with over 400 employees across 20+ offices in Belgium, China, Denmark, Hong Kong, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland. With IP professionals in patents, trademarks, design, copyright and domain names, the firm’s lawyers act for a diverse client base from local startups to global giants. AWA provides a full-service offering in prosecution, dispute litigation, aftermarket services, legal advice, strategy and commercialisation.
AWA Asia’s head office is in Hong Kong, and the Beijing office is also a licensed trademark agency, allowing the firm to file and enforce trademarks directly before the China Trademark Office and the administrative authorities, without the need to use agents.
The firm has taken over some larger portfolios in recent years (such as Swarovski, Volvo, GSK). This has led to an increase in the volume of trademark work.
On the contentious side, the firm has seen an increase in litigation and enforcement work, especially in comparison to the Covid years signalling the firm’s clients seem more willing than ever to assert their IP rights. As the firm’s clients’ portfolios become more complex, they are looking to alternatives to protect and assert their rights. This has led AWA Asia’s lawyers to focus on strategic advice, litigation capacity, copyright law and agreement work.
Team overview:
AWA Asia’s team offers an East-meets-West bilingual and bicultural team of IP professionals, lawyers and patent attorneys. The team comprises regional and international patent attorneys and lawyers with legal backgrounds and qualifications from China, the UK, Hong Kong and Singapore along with PRC-qualified trademark attorneys.
Ai-Leen Lim leads AWA Asia’s offices as group vice president, managing its headquarters in Hong Kong and its wholly owned Chinese IP consultancy in Beijing. She is admitted as an advocate and solicitor in Singapore and is qualified to practise in Hong Kong and the UK.
Lim has advised clients on IP portfolio management in China, in Hong Kong and internationally for more than 23 years with a focus on brand management and IP strategy. She is experienced in contentious and non-contentious trademark, design and patent registration, protection and enforcement matters.
Ashley Zhao has been practising Chinese IP law since 2005 and was admitted to the PRC Bar in 2008. She is regularly involved in both contentious and non-contentious IP matters, specialising in trademark, copyright, domain name, internet law and anti-unfair competition issues.
Key matters:
- AWA Asia assists Mölnlycke Healthcare, a leading medical products and solutions company based in Sweden, on trademark prosecution, oppositions, invalidations, domain names and strategy.
- AWA Asia assists Tomra Systems, a food processing and sensor-based sorting and grading technology company listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange, on trademark prosecution.
Clients:
Mölnlycke Healthcare, Tomra Systems
