Timothy Siaw
Partner since 2003
Head, Technology, Media & Telco
Intellectual Property
Healthcare and Life Sciences
Personal Data Protection & Privacy Laws
Qualifications
- B.Sc. and LL.B, Monash University, Australia
- Barrister & Solicitor, Supreme Court of Victoria, Australia (non-practising)
- Advocate & Solicitor, High Court of Malaya
- Registered Patent, Trade Mark and Industrial Design Agent, Malaysia
Admissions
- Victoria, Australia (1990)
- Advocate & Solicitor, High Court of Malaya (1991)
Languages
English, Malay
My Resume
ABOUT TIMOTHY
Timothy Siaw is a partner in the IP and Technology Department of Shearn Delamore & Co. He has degrees in science and law from Monash University, Australia.
Tim has been in practice for nearly 30 years as an IP and Technology lawyer and is a registered patent agent.
Tim has extensive experience in all areas of Intellectual Property and Technology with a focus on Patents, Life Sciences, IP Litigation, IT contracts, Technology Licensing, Cybersecurity and Data Protection.
Patent
Tim prosecutes patent applications for many of the leading global pharma and biotech companies. He has the distinction of advising the originator companies when the Malaysian Government first invoked the compulsory government use licence in relation to the HIV anti-viral drugs and then again for the drug for the treatment of Hepatitis C.
Tim acted as leading counsel in the successful invalidation of a patent in relation to a transportation structure at the Appellate Court, see See Hau Global Sdn Bhd v Mah Sing Plastics Industries Sdn Bhd [2018] 1 MLJ 213.
Trade Mark and Industrial Designs
Tim advises the national energy company, PETRONAS on its IP protection and manages its entire worldwide trade mark and industrial design portfolio of the national energy company with over 6,000 records across over 150 jurisdictions.
Copyright
Tim persuaded the highest court in Malaysia, the Federal Court that the original drawings of artistic works were not required to be produced for the presumption of copyright ownership under s. 42 of the Copyright Act 1987 in the landmark case of Duramine Sdn Bhd v Elster Metering & Anor [2015] 3 MLJ 1.
TMT
Tim advised a regional banking group on the agreements for the implementation of its core banking system across the ASEAN region.
Tim advised on the agreements for licensing of the technology for the construction and operation of a plant for the conversion of waste to energy.
Tim advises a regional technology company in relation to the agreements for the provision of technology products and services to a Malaysian telecommunication service provider in relation to its customer experience platform.
• Asia IP Experts (2018 and 2021)
Best 50 “IP Expert” in Malaysia
• Asialaw Leading Lawyers (2003 – 2013)
“Leading Lawyer” in Intellectual Property
• Asialaw Leading Lawyers (2020 – 2023)
“Distinguished Practitioner” in Intellectual Property
“Timothy is very attentive, provides a very clear explanation on queries and very knowledgeable in intellectual property. He is also quick to respond hence, we know we can count on him on urgent matters.” – Asialaw Profiles 2020
“Tim is clearly a leading expert in the field of intellectual property, especially with respect to trademarks and patent law. He has admirably led his team to deliver quality and timely solutions for my organisation.” – Asialaw Profiles 2020
• Chambers Asia-Pacific (2023 and 2024)
“Band 3” lawyer in Intellectual Property
A client stated that “We have been very pleased with Timothy’s service and he has been a very valuable partner for our business.” – Chambers Asia Pacific 2024
• Chambers Asia-Pacific (2009 – 2014, 2017 – 2022)
Ranked Lawyer in Intellectual Property
He impresses clients, who note that “he’s very intelligent, can give you full appraisal of the situation, knows what he’s doing and is very good at what he does.” – Chambers Asia-Pacific 2014
A client describes Timothy Siaw as “very responsive” and “very knowledgeable about trade mark law in Malaysia.” – Chambers Asia-Pacific 2017
A client observes that “he is very strong in the IP field because of his vast experience and deep knowledge.” – Chambers Asia-Pacific 2020
“Quite but very effective, Timothy Siaw specializes in patent litigation.’ – Chambers Asia-Pacific
“Timothy Siaw wins praise for his rich expertise, which allows him to tackle highly complex and unprecedented matters.” – Chambers Asia-Pacific
“Timothy Siaw has a broad practice with particular emphasis on patents and technology, corporate IP matters, licensing and life sciences. He also handles anti-competition work.” – Chambers Asia-Pacific
“We are very happy with our continued commercial relationship with Tim. He offers excellent, practical legal advice.” – Chambers Asia-Pacific 2023
• Global Law Experts Annual Awards (2022)
TMT Lawyer of the Year in Malaysia
• Lexology: Client Choice Awards (2018 and 2021)
Individual Winner for Patents for Malaysia Jurisdiction
• Expert Guides (2018 – 2020)
“Leading Practitioner” in Trademarks and Patents
• IAM (2010)
World’s Leading Life Sciences Patent Litigators
• IAM (2020 – 2022)
“Global Leader” in Intellectual Property
• IAM (2010)
World’s Leading Life Sciences Patent Litigators
• IAM Patent 1000 (2015 – 2017)
Ranked for Patent Litigation and Patent Prosecution
• IAM Patent 1000 (2019 – 2022)
Ranked for Patent Litigation and Prosecution
• IAM Patent 1000 (2023)
“Gold Individual” in Litigation
“Highly Recommended Individual” in Prosecution
• IAM Patent 1000 (2024)
“Gold Individual” in Litigation
“Gold Individual” in Prosecution
“Recommended Individual” in Transactions
• MIP IP Stars (2018 – 2024)
Patent Star in Malaysia
• MIP IP Stars (2020 – 2024)
Trademark Star in Malaysia
• The Legal 500 Asia-Pacific (2023)
“Leading Individual” in Intellectual Property
• The Legal 500 Asia-Pacific (2016 – 2022)
“Recommended Lawyer” in TMT
• The Legal 500 Asia-Pacific (2014 – 2019)
“Recommended Lawyer” in Intellectual Property
Timothy Siaw and … are ‘very skilled and provide a personalised service’. – The Legal 500 Asia-Pacific 2014
‘Timothy is the go-to expert for intellectual property law – his self effacing demeanor makes him approachable and high contactable, where he counsels in a frank and honest manner.’ – The Legal 500 Asia-Pacific 2020
• The Legal 500 Asia-Pacific (2020 – 2024)
“Leading Individual” in Intellectual Property
“Timothy is well-known to be very strong in the IP field because of his vast experience and deep knowledge.He is always ready to provide a very thorough and clear explanation to the queries that we have. Recently he has also provided commercialisation advice regarding licensing issues. I appreciate Timothy who provides free consultation when we need professional opinion and advice in licensing of the IP for patents which were filed. The advice provided is detailed and considers the risks and concerns involved for the organization.” – The Legal 500 Asia-Pacific 2022
• Who’s Who Legal (2007 – 2018)
“Expert” in Trademarks
• Who’s Who Legal (2019 – 2021)
“Global Leader” in Patents
• Who’s Who Legal (2021 – 2023)
“National Leader (Southeast Asia)” in Patents
• Who’s Who Legal (2022 and 2023)
“National Leader (Southeast Asia)” in Trademarks
• World Trademark Review (2019 – 2022 and 2024)
“Silver Tier” in Enforcement and Litigation
“Timothy Siaw is an authority on life sciences and patents with superb expertise in franchising and anti-counterfeiting.” – WTR 2020
“life sciences titan Timothy Siaw is an invaluable ally in trademark disputes.” – WTR 2022
• Exco Delegate, Federation of Patent Attorneys Association (FICPI)
• Data Protection Substantive Law Committee member, International Technology Association (ITechLaw)
• Digital Asia Subcommittee of Internet Committee member, International Trade Mark Association (INTA)
• Member, Malaysia Bar Council – IP Committee
• Member, International Bar Association (IBA)
• Member, Licensing Executives Society Malaysia (LESM)
• Member, Malaysian Intellectual Property Association (MIPA)
• Member, Asian Patent Attorneys Association (APAA)
• Chambers Life Sciences Guide (2020)
• Chambers Patent Litigation Guide (2018)
• The International Comparative Legal Guide to Fintech (2017 to 2022)
• The International Comparative Legal Guide to Telecoms, Media & Internet Laws & Regulations (2017)
• CASBAA – Pay TV and OTT Policies in Malaysia now known as the Asia Video Industry Association (AVIA) – (2015, 2017 and 2020)
• International Trade Mark Association (INTA) Country Guide for Malaysia (2017 to 2020)
• Atkin’s Court Forms Malaysia for Patents, Trade Marks, Copyright and Industrial Designs
• LexisNexis Malaysian Forms and Precedents for Patent, Trade Mark, Copyright and Industrial Designs
• LexisNexis Annotations to the Statutes of Malaysia: Patents Act 1983, Copyright Act 1987 and Industrial Designs Act 1996
• Doing Business in Asia, Malaysia chapter published by Thomson Reuters (2016)
• Patent Litigation: The European Lawyer Reference (2012)