Written by Jad on 03 August 2018.
♦ Recent Deals ♦ Taipei
oday, Pillsbury announced the opening of its Taipei office, where the firm will operate as Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP Foreign Legal Affairs Law Firm. The office opening in Taiwan’s capital city follows closely on the arrival of well-known intellectual property partners David Tsai and Christopher Kao, who joined the firm in May from Vinson & Elkins LLP. Kao and Tsai have long operated sizeable Taiwan-based practices—where clients frequently consider them their American general counsel—and are among the less than 50 registered foreign attorneys there. Along with existing presences in Beijing, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Tokyo, this latest opening by Pillsbury marks the firm’s fifth office in the region. The new Taipei office will primarily serve Pillsbury’s IP, technology and life sciences sector clients at launch, while also presenting new opportunities for many other Taiwan- and Asia-based companies represented by the firm. “In response to significant demand from the companies we work with, Pillsbury has been strategically building out our practice in Asia for many years,” said firm Chair David Dekker. “That effort has been quite successful thus far and we believe this new Taiwan office will only further benefit clientele in the region. Having a base in Taiwan not only helps us serve local clients; it also positions us to better support one of the world’s leading high technology markets and reinforces our stature as a sought-after firm for U.S.-Asia cross-border work.” Kao and Tsai will split their time in Taiwan and the San Francisco Bay Area. Kao is an experienced first-chair trial lawyer in complex intellectual property and commercial litigation cases while Tsai is an authority on U.S. patent law, including cases involving high technology, standard essential patents, FRAND/RAND royalties, and Hatch-Waxman/Abbreviated New Drug Applications (ANDA). “We are thrilled to be up-and-running in Taiwan,” said Kao. “We look forward to seeing our Taiwan clients regularly as we work hand-in-hand with them on their business needs.” The new office is located at Level 34, Taipei Nanshan Plaza, No. 100, Songren Road, Taipei, Xinyi District, 11073, Taiwan, and can be reached at +886 2 8729 5858.
Written by Jad on 17 May 2016.
♦ Breaking BigLaw News ♦ Taipei
International law firm Vinson & Elkins LLP announced the opening of an office in Taipei, to serve the growing demand of the firm’s clientele in Taiwan and the Asia Pacific. V&E partners David Tsai and Christopher Kao will oversee the office, which will serve as a platform for offering a wide range of litigation, transactional and strategic legal counseling support, with a particular emphasis on complex commercial litigation, intellectual property, renewable energy and corporate matters. The Taipei office is located on the 52nd floor of the iconic Taipei 101 skyscraper, in the city’s Xinyi District. The office is V&E’s fourth in Asia and 16th worldwide. “Our presence in Taipei enhances the firm’s ability to meet the diverse set of legal challenges our clients face in the United States and throughout the Asia Pacific,” said V&E Chairman Mark Kelly. “For nearly a decade, David and Chris have helped develop and cultivate a thriving practice in Taiwan that now includes more than three dozen leading high technology and biotechnology companies and some of Taiwan’s strongest brands. We are confident that their leadership will enable V&E to meet the U.S. legal needs of all our Taiwanese clients.” Tsai, who together with Kao joined V&E from Perkins Coie in September 2015, handles a range of patent, trade secret, complex breach of contract, and product defect litigation. His legal experience includes international arbitration, copyright and trademark litigation, preparing and prosecuting U.S. electrical engineering patent applications, drafting patentability, freedom-to-operate and non-infringement opinions, as well as patent interferences in the area of biotechnology. He also represents clients in patent negotiations, licensing and overall intellectual property strategy. Kao, an experienced trial lawyer, focuses his practice on intellectual property litigation, including patent, copyright, trademark and trade secrets disputes, as well as high-stakes complex commercial litigation. He has represented a diverse spectrum of U.S. and international clients in the computer hardware and software, semiconductor, telecommunications, energy, medical devices and consumer products industries. He also has particular experience representing clients in post-grant review proceedings before the U.S. Patent and Trial Appeal Board (PTAB). “As home to many of the world’s leading computer, semiconductor, LED, pharmaceutical, petrochemical and renewable energy companies, Taiwan is among the top commercial hubs in the world and a hotspot for growth,” Tsai said. “Opening an office in Taipei makes strategic sense, and I am thrilled about the full-service legal assistance V&E will be able to provide our Taiwanese clients.” In addition to servicing existing IP clientele, the Taipei office will complement the firm’s branches in Beijing, Hong Kong and Tokyo and strengthens the firm’s ability to assist clients around the world with issues related to antitrust, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, government and internal investigations, international arbitration, tax, finance, mergers and acquisitions, private equity, joint ventures, development projects and other transactions. “V&E’s move into Taipei will greatly benefit the firm’s global IP and litigation practices while also generating synergies with our other offices and practice groups serving clients based in Asia,” said Darryl Woo, co-head of V&E’s Intellectual Property Practice Group. With approximately 650 attorneys, V&E is among the preeminent law firms in Asia and provides integrated U.S. and local law advice, and offers a broad range of legal services in the Asia Pacific region through the firm’s offices in Beijing, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Taipei. For more than 30 years, V&E’s lawyers have represented the interests of a variety of clients in connection with their projects, transactions and other matters throughout the area. The firm’s lawyers in Asia are part of V&E’s worldwide network, collaborating closely with lawyers in V&E’s other offices to serve firm clients whose headquarters are located outside Asia. V&E also has an established record of success obtaining, protecting, exploiting, and enforcing clients’ intellectual property rights, including patents, trademarks, trade dress, trade secrets, and copyrights. The firm’s lawyers have successfully litigated patent, trademark, copyright, and trade secret cases in state and federal district courts throughout the United States and have obtained highly favorable judgments for V&E’s clients at the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) and in a variety of appellate courts, including the Federal Circuit.
Written by John on 14 September 2015.
♦ Uncategorized ♦ Taipei
Davis Polk advised Toyota Motor Credit Corporation in connection with an SEC-registered offering in Taiwan of $750 million aggregate principal amount of 4.250% medium-term notes, Series B due 2045. The notes were settled in Euroclear and Clearstream and are listed on the Taipei Exchange (formerly the GreTai Securities Market) and offered to professional institutional investors. Toyota Motor Credit Corporation provides retail and wholesale financing, retail leasing and certain other financial services to authorized Toyota and Lexus vehicle and Toyota industrial equipment dealers and their customers in the United States (excluding Hawaii) and Puerto Rico. Toyota Motor Credit Corporation is an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Toyota Motor Corporation of Japan. The Davis Polk corporate team included partner Sarah E. Beshar and associates Michael J. Moldowan, Jennifer Pinchevsky, Jeremy Larkins and Jie Zhang. Partners Lucy W. Farr and Rachel D. Kleinberg and associate Koonho Cho provided tax advice. Members of the Davis Polk team are based in the New York, Menlo Park and Beijing offices.
Written by Editor on 16 October 2014.
♦ Breaking BigLaw News ♦ Taipei
CPA Global, the world’s leading specialist in intellectual property (IP) management software and services, has further strengthened its presence in Asia Pacific with the opening of an office in the Taiwanese capital, Taipei. The move will enable CPA Global to better serve its growing number of corporate and law firm clients in Taiwan, and to help meet the increasing demand for IP management software and services in this key innovation market, and more broadly across the Asia Pacific region. Located in the landmark Taipei 101 tower in the city’s Xinyi central business district, the new office provides local client service and sales support, backed by the full resources of CPA Global’s Asia Pacific regional headquarters in Hong Kong as well as the Company’s extensive worldwide operations. In addition to Taipei and Hong Kong, CPA Global’s Asia Pacific offices include Tokyo, Seoul, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Sydney and Noida (New Delhi); and the Company plans to open an office in Beijing shortly. Commenting on the importance of the Taiwanese market, Marcos Antunes, CPA Global’s General Manager, Asia Pacific, said: “Taiwan is a market of tremendous innovation and home to some of the world’s most progressive, forward-thinking organisations, who need to manage and protect their IP rights locally, regionally and internationally. As a result, we are seeing increasing demand for high quality IP management services and software, both from law firms and from the corporate clients they serve.” CPA Global’s Taiwanese clients, such as AU Optronics Corporation (AUO), one of the world's leading providers of optoelectronic solutions, have welcomed the establishment of the CPA Global office in Taiwan. Antunes added: “It is important for our clients in Taiwan to have local on-the-ground support, and we can now provide that more effectively through our Taipei office. By being closer to our clients, we can better understand and anticipate their changing IP management requirements and respond quickly to meet their needs.” CPA Global’s Taipei office is headed by Emily Wang, a Taiwanese national, who has been leading the Company's business development in Taiwan for the past three years. To mark the office opening, CPA Global will be hosting an IP Leaders’ Forum in Taipei on October 31. The Forum, to be held at Le Meridien Taipei, will focus on the topic, “Managing IP Portfolios: Cost vs Return”. It will feature interactive panel discussions with senior members of Taiwan’s IP community and other industry experts on the challenges and strategies for cost effective IP portfolio management.
Written by Editor on 22 April 2014.
♦ Moves News, Uncategorized ♦ Taipei
Global law firm K&L Gates LLP has added Jim Wu, a former general counsel with Yahoo! Asia Pacific, as a corporate partner in its Taipei and Palo Alto offices. Wu has functioned in a leadership or in-house counsel role for a variety of different entities during the past decade and a half, advising on corporate governance matters; mergers and acquisitions, investments, and strategic partnerships; private equity financing; and corporate securities affairs. This included seven years with Yahoo! Inc., where Wu served in such positions as general counsel, Asia Pacific; director of corporate development, North Asia; and associate general counsel and vice president for international M&A. Previously, Wu was a founding partner in both the Taipei office — where he also served as managing partner — and San Francisco office of K&L Gates predecessor firm Preston Gates & Ellis LLP, which combined with Kirkpatrick & Lockhart Nicholson Graham LLP in 2007 to create K&L Gates. Through his corporate securities practice, Wu has represented public and private technology companies, venture capitalists, and other private equity investors. David Tang, K&L Gates’ managing partner, Asia, stated: “We are delighted that Jim has returned to the firm. His experience and perspective from starting and running online businesses in Asia, combined with his in-house legal experience, will serve our clients well in the fast-growing Asia market for these services and in the increased financing ties between the U.S. and China.”