CHEONG Maurice

Maurice is a Partner in the Intellectual Property Department.

Maurice graduated from the University of London in 1995 and was admitted as a barrister-at-law, England and Wales in 1996. In 1998, he was admitted to the Singapore Bar. He obtained a Master of Laws from the National University of Singapore in 2003.

Since commencing practice in 1998, Maurice has built a diverse portfolio, reflecting his equally diverse interest and expertise in multiple areas of legal practice.

Intellectual Property Law

Maurice maintains an active practice as an intellectual property lawyer with extensive experience in both contentious and non-contentious work.

On contentious intellectual property matters, he has accumulated considerable trial experience in trade mark, copyright, patent, passing off, confidential information, media, entertainment and information technology disputes. He has also acted on behalf of the Public Prosecutor in the prosecution of criminal offences under the Copyright Act and Trade Marks Act.

Maurice represents clients in opposition, revocation and invalidation proceedings before the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS) and court proceedings relating to infringement of copyright, trade mark, passing off, patent and registered design rights. He has represented clients in a number of successful claims in trade mark registry proceedings and reported court cases for IPR infringement.

Intellectual Property Corporate

Maurice also regularly advises on intellectual property issues in commercial transactions, reviewing, drafting and negotiating agreements relating to intellectual property, media and information technology (IT) commercial matters such as research & collaboration agreement, licensing, assignment, and co-investment agreements, technology transfer agreement, franchise and distribution agreement as well as other commercial and businesses-related transaction matters. He does IP management and consultancy for companies and government agencies.

Maurice’s clients include statutory boards, government-linked entities and major international corporations dealing with fast moving consumer goods, leading fashion designers, medical and pharmaceutical companies, software and tech companies

Most recently, he assisted a Singapore-listed company in a technology transfer transaction worth US$78 million. He also advised and reviewed on the Public Sector Master Research Collaboration Agreement applicable to public sector agencies.

Media and Entertainment Law

Maurice also advises clients on a range of issues involving media and entertainment law, and has represented both local and foreign clients in the media industry in a wide variety of transactions. These include matters relating to consultancy, event acquisition, event collaboration, distribution, merchandising, licencing, event management, event sponsorship, event investment, as well as production services.

He also frequently advises media and entertainment corporations on their rights and liabilities in the commercialisation and exploitation of creative works.

Notably, Maurice had advised on the revised Code of Practice for Market Conduct in the Provision of Media Services in relation to obligations under international treaties.

Maurice has also assisted clients in a range of contentious matters arising from media law, including online copyright infringement, defamation on social media platforms, as well as malicious falsehood, trade mark infringement and passing off in the course of online trading.

Information Technology Law

Maurice has advised and assisted internet service providers in all matters relating to their websites, including drafting, advising and negotiating website development agreements, licensing, consultancy and website use.

He has also handled contentious IT matters such as disputes concerning domain names, software development, software licensing, consultancy, transfer, copyright infringement, as well as IT services and sales. Recently, Maurice has represented statutory boards in litigation involving complex IT services, software development and licensing issues.

He has represented clients in complaint lodged with the Personal Data Protection Commission for conduct contrary to the provisions of the Personal Date Protection Act.

Advertising Law

Maurice regularly represents and advises clients on contentious matters involving the Singapore Code of Advertising Practice, which regulates advertising practices in Singapore and he assists in advising and drafting advertising terms and conditions.

Counsel to Statutory Boards and Government-linked Entities

Maurice actively advises and represents statutory boards and government-linked entities in legal matters. He counts as his clients the Government Investment Corporation of Singapore, Institute of Technical Education,  Singapore Polytechnic, Republic Polytechnic, Singapore Institute of Technology, Enterprise Singapore, Intellectual Property Office Singapore, Ministry of Trade & Industry, Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore, Singapore Examinations and Assessment Board, National Heritage Board, National Arts Council, Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore, Singapore Totalisator Board, Health Promotion Board, Government Technology Agency and Health Promotion Board.

Medical Law & Ethics

Maurice has been appointed to the panel of lawyers for the Medical Protection Society (UK) (MPS) since 2001. In his role as an MPS lawyer, Maurice provides legal advice and assistance to registered medical practitioners in Singapore on issues of law and ethics concerning professional practices and conduct. He has successfully represented registered medical practitioners in both civil and criminal court proceedings. He is a regular lawyer representing medical doctors at coroner’s inquiry and was one of the few lawyers who had successfully defended two doctors who were named as “co-defendants” under the former Coroners Act.

He regularly represents registered medical practitioners in the Singapore Medical Council Disciplinary Tribunal Inquiry for charges of professional misconduct, past conviction implying defect in character, improper act or conduct, as well as other charges of ethical misconduct.

Maurice has been invited to speak and give lectures in various public medical institutions. He is a regular speaker at the SingHealth Duke-NUS OBGYN Academic Clinical Program.

Contractual and Commercial Litigation

Maurice has vast experience in advising on or acting in both contentious and non-contentious contract matters. He has represented multi-national companies touching on cross-borders transactions in respect of contractual, commercial and corporate disputes in court proceedings.

Maurice has served as the Honorary Legal Advisor to the College of Family Physicians of Singapore for 3 terms since 2014. He is also a member of the Medico-legal Society of Singapore.

He has been appointed to the Inquiry Panel of the Law Society of Singapore since 2016 to review complaints concerning conduct of legal practitioners. Recently, he was appointed as the Chairman of an Inquiry Committee.