Meryl Koh

Here is a sample of the matters which Meryl has been involved in:

• Lead counsel in a matter representing a world-renowned video games developer and software company in a copyright infringement suit that involves parties from 3 different jurisdictions (HC/S103/2022).
• Representing IIa Technologies Pte Ltd, an industry leader and manufacturer of lab-grown diamonds with the largest diamond growing facility in the world, in a patent infringement suit commenced by Element Six Technologies Ltd, a subsidiary of the De Beers Group (HC/ Suit No. 26/2016, CA 41/2020 and CA 96/2020). The Suit included a counterclaim by IIa Technologies Pte Ltd to revoke Element Six Technologies Ltd’s patents in the Singapore High Court. The Suit was heard over a 7 week trial in two tranches. The appeal was heard over 6 days. The matter is now pending the Court of Appeal’s decision in CA 41 and CA 96.
• Represented an ultra-high net worth individual in an action concerning defamation, malicious falsehood and disputes involving shareholdings in an Indonesian listed company worth over US$1 billion. The action resulted in an unprecedented award of damages for malicious falsehood and defamation of over SG$130 million in total. (Court of Appeal case of Low Tuck Kwong v Sukamto Sia [2013] SGCA 61).
• Represented TWG Tea Company Pte Ltd (“TWG Tea”), a subsidiary of public listed OSIM International Ltd and a home-grown international brand famous for its luxury tea boutiques and salons in HC/S799/2017 and wrestled ownership of TWG Tea’s Domain Name from a former office holder. This Suit also involved allegations of malicious falsehood and conspiracy against TWG Tea and its incumbent office holders. On 3 May 2019, the High Court rendered Judgment in favour of TWG Tea for its claims for its Domain Name and dismissed all of the Defendant’s counterclaims.
• Lead counsel in a matter representing a leading fitness / lifestyle content creator and YouTube personality in defamation and harassment proceedings (DC 131/2021).

Chambers Asia-Pacific

Intellectual Property: Domestic: Litigation 2023 – Band 3 for 2 consecutive years

"Meryl is a great lawyer with the stamina of an Olympic athlete and never gives up. She digs into the details of the case looking for the needle in the haystack to save the day. She has increased the odds of success in so many cases she handled for us.

"Meryl is an excellent litigation counsel. She has a great eye for detail and has the ability to strategise and advise clients on their positions. She is also an expert in the IP field with great depth of knowledge."

"Meryl has a great eye for detail as well as an ability to see the big picture."

One client describes Meryl as a "very meticulous litigator."

The Legal 500 Asia-Pacific

Intellectual Property 2024 – Next Generation Lawyer for 8 consecutive years

Dispute Resolution 2024 – Recommended Lawyer for 3 consecutive years

International Arbitration 2022 – Recommended Lawyer

“Meryl Koh is meticulous, hard-working, available at all times for anything. Her work ethic is off the charts. She will truly work all hours just to make you reassured. Her work is outstanding. Very detailed and very skilled.”

“Meryl Koh is a great strategist and is able to align very well with our overall objectives. We are confident that her advice is professional and her approach is to the best of our interest.”

“Meryl Koh has shown her integrity and delivered professionalism objectively, enabling us to call for the right decision based on her careful thoughts and views. I would definitely recommend her to anyone and/or any firm looking to engage legal counsel and/or legal advisory.”

“Meryl Koh is a prominent IP litigator and highly rated by clients, especially where the Mandarin language is required.”

“Meryl Koh is an excellent strategist and is dedicated in covering all bases when going to court to litigate. She did a detailed analysis of our situation and advised what our options were. Instead of recommending litigation outright, she tried to settle the matter amicably first. When the other party rejected our offer, she then took pains to prepare for hearings by amassing cases to fight our point and showed great stamina when litigating in court.”

“Meryl Koh is very easy to work with and brings a level head to disputes.”

“Meryl Koh is sharp and appropriately aggressive lawyer whom you will want on your side. Possessing good commercial sense and great depth of knowledge as subject matter experts, she will be able to value-add by strategising approaches for the best outcomes. First-class lawyer.”

Sources say that Meryl is noted for “her great eye for detail, as well as an ability to see the big picture”

“The ‘meticulous’ Meryl Koh is a ‘great strategist.’”

Who’s Who Legal

Global Guide: IP - Patents 2022 – Recommended Lawyer for 2 consecutive years

Global Guide: Life Sciences - Patent Litigation 2023 – Recommended Lawyer for 3 consecutive years

National Guide: Southeast Asia - Patents 2023 – Recommended Lawyer for 3 consecutive years

National Guide: Southeast Asia - Life Sciences 2023 – Recommended Lawyer for 3 consecutive years

“Meryl Koh is highly regarded by clients for her skill in navigating the full spectrum of complex patent disputes.”

“The excellent Meryl Koh is a renowned patent litigator with in-depth understanding of intricate IP disputes in the biomedical industry.”

Meryl Koh is praised by peers as “the lawyer you need in highly complex litigation as she focuses in to find the needle in the haystack that often wins the case”.

Meryl Koh is “at the top of the list for patent litigators”.

“Meryl Koh is a top-tier advocate in contentious corporate, domain name and patent disputes. Her impressive roster of clients spans the media, pharmaceutical and agriculture sectors.”

Asian Legal Business

Singapore Rising Star 2022 – Recognised as being amongst the next generation of leading lawyers

“40 Under 40” 2019 – Identified as one of 40 bright legal minds in the region under the age of 40

Meryl is described as “simply first-rate. She makes it a point to acquire complete mastery of the case, including the evidence, arguments and the law, no matter how complex the matter is.”

World Trade Mark Review 1000

Enforcement and Litigation 2023 – Silver band; Bronze band for 3 consecutive years (2020-2022)

“Meryl is creative in the way she approaches matters and digs into the details of cases. In terms of her work product, service and advice, she is way ahead of the pack in Singapore.”

“Meryl is a perceptive strategist who precisely analyses the risks, costs and benefits of different courses of action. She empowers you to make decisions confidently, knowing that you’re not going to get blindsided by an opposing party. She practises with great moral integrity, her guiding light being her clients’ best interests.”

Meryl is a “virtuoso in civil and commercial litigation”.

“With civil and commercial matters her forte, contractual disputes and defamation are also [Meryl’s] strong suit.”

Praised for being “detailed and methodical”, Meryl can “analyse issues from a strategical and legal perspective and is often able to lend a commercial angle to matters as well”.

Meryl Koh is a “brilliant lawyer who tailors her service to the requirements of the task at hand.”

IAM Patent 1000

Litigation 2022 – Silver band for 2 consecutive years; Bronze band in 2020

“Polished litigator Meryl Koh is well received among peers and patrons.”

“Meryl was delightful to work with. I appreciate her confidence, honesty and strategic expertise. She came across as natural and trustworthy.”

“Meryl provides sage IP advice on complex IP matters which are part of global litigation strategies. I trust her advice and she always brings fresh ideas and strategies to the table.”

“In terms of her approach, [Meryl] is thorough, details-oriented, and always well prepared. In terms of her advice and work product, it is crisp, pragmatic and commercial – clearly drawing on her years of experience.”

“I sleep well at night knowing that Meryl Koh is at the wheel on Singapore IP matters.”

“Meryl [is] the attorney to have on speed dial when a complex IP issue arises and you want pragmatic legal advice.”

Managing Intellectual Property

Top 250 Women in IP 2023

IP Star 2022 – Rising Star for 2 consecutive years

IFLR Rising Stars Awards Asia-Pacific 2021

Practice Area Awards: Litigation – Rising Star

Jurisdiction Awards: Singapore – Rising Star

Benchmark Litigation Asia-Pacific

Intellectual Property 2023 – Future Star 2 consecutive years

“Highly responsive and takes a keen interest to know the client's business and challenges faced. She has a can-do attitude and willing to go the extra mile for the client. Does not discriminate client based on fee earned.”

“Thorough, empathetic and forward-looking.”

Meryl is an excellent strategist and is candid at sharing her assessment of how the court will look at the charges and evidence presented. Empowering us with knowledge gave us much confidence when making decisions.”

“Meryl took effort to understand our case completely, presented us the various strategies we may adopt and explained the pros, cons, probable outcomes and costs of each strategy so that we could make an informed decision.”

asialaw Leading Lawyers 2023 edition

Intellectual Property 2023 – Notable Practitioner for 2 consecutive years

“Meryl is an excellent strategist who understood our bottom lines and gave us reliable legal advice accordingly.”

“Meryl is meticulous and will analyse the pros, cons and costs of each option for you so you can make the most informed decision for your company.”

“Meryl has shown her integrity and delivers professionalism objectively, enabling us to call for the right decision based on her careful thoughts and views.”

“Meryl is great at listening to your worries and giving you advice in accordance with your company's objectives.”

“Meryl is very helpful and detailed in analysing the situation to come up with the most suitable solution for the issue. She is able to calm and reassure the client about the situation to reduce the stressful situation.”

Asialaw Awards 2023

Editor’s Choice – Impact Deal and Case of the Year: Riot games v NetEase Interactive Entertainment

Prestige Singapore Magazine

40 under 40 report 2017 – Featured as an accomplished industry leader under the age of 40

Singapore Business Review

Singapore’s 70 most influential lawyers aged 40 and under 2016 – Listed lawyer

Euromoney Asia Women in Business Law Awards

Nominated as a Rising Star for IP in 2020 and 2016

• Expert panellist for WIPO’s Fast-Track Intellectual Property Dispute Resolution Procedure for Consumer Fairs
• Fellow, Singapore Institute of Arbitrators
• Member, Board of Directors, EB Impact
• Assessor, Panel of Assessors for COVID-19 Temporary Relief, Ministry of Law
• Member, Standing Committee on IP and Green Technology, International Association for the Protection of Intellectual Property (AIPPI)
• Vice-Chair, IPBA Women Business Lawyers Committee
• Member, Young Professionals Advisory Group, International Trademark Association (INTA)
• Volunteer, Pro Bono Clearinghouse, International Trademark Association (INTA)
• Volunteer, Scheme Arbitration Committee, Singapore Institute of Arbitrators
• Mentor Volunteer, Relational Mentorship, and PracMentor Scheme, The Law Society of Singapore
• Volunteer, Pro Bono Advisory Clinic, Glyph
• Member, Inter-Pacific Bar Association
• Member, International Association for the Protection of Intellectual Property (AIPPI) Singapore Group
• Member, Intellectual Property Practice Committee, The Law Society of Singapore
• Member of the Law Society of Singapore
• Member of the Academy of Law

Meryl also contributed to various legal publications, guides and precedents concerning intellectual property and dispute resolution. These include but are not limited to:

• Co-authored Singapore chapter of Lexology GTDT on Patents, 2023
• Co-authored the Singapore chapter of Patent Litigation Country Comparative Guide, The Legal 500, 2022
• Co-authored Practical Law’s Practice Note on Scope of Patent Protection (Singapore), Thomson Reuters, 2022. 
• Contributed to Asia IP’s article on using IP to launch product in a new market (“Using your IP to launch your product in a new market”) (11 August 2022).
• Contributed to Asia IP’s article on IP rights in the metaverse (“Are Businesses and Legislation Ready for the Coming of the Metaverse?”) (31 March 2022).
• Co-authored the Singapore Chapter in the Kluwer IP Law’s Manual IP, 2022.
• Contributed to an article for Lianhe Zaobao’s legal column, Speaking and Knowing the Law, on the legal framework for preventing online harassment and how victims can seek help (“Understanding relevant legal protections. Surfing the Internet safely. Stop harassment”) (2 January 2022).
• Co-authored the Brunei Chapter of Manual for the Handling of Applications for Patents, Designs and Trade Marks Throughout the World 2021.
• Co-authored the Singapore Chapter in The Legal 500 Patent Litigation Country Comparative Guide 2020 and 2021.
• Contributing author for Asia IP’s article on how brand owners were successful in their disputes against the trademark infringers (“Defeating trademark infringers”) (30 September 2020).
• Co-authored the Singapore International Chamber of Commerce’s position paper on the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) for Packaging in Singapore (23 September 2020).
• Contributing author for Asia IP’s cover story on significant trademark enforcement law and regulation changes in Singapore (“Birds of Fake”) (30 June 2020).
• Co-authored the Singapore Chapter in the 2019/2020 LexisNexis’ Dispute Resolution Law Guide.
• Co-authored an article for Straits Times Supplement, Digital Life, on Defamation on the Internet (“Be Careful, Not Sorry”) (August 2009).
• Co-authored an article for Straits Times Supplement, Digital Life, on Copyright Issues in Home-made Productions (“Watch What you Post”) (August 2009)
• LexisNexis Guides and IP/IT Modules, Practitioners’ Tool Kit for LawNet (the leading online legal resource in Singapore for case and precedent research), the Wolters Kluwer Manual of Industrial Property (Brunei Chapters on IP law), and the Katsarov’s Manual on Industrial Property.