Dr Chong-Yee Khoo
邱忠毅
Patent and Design Attorney, Trade Mark Agent
Chong-Yee founded Cantab IP in 2007. He is a Chartered UK, European and Singapore patent attorney, registered design attorney and trade mark attorney. He has a degree in natural sciences and a PhD in cell and molecular biology from the University of Cambridge.
Chong-Yee handles inventions in a wide range of subject matter in engineering and the physical sciences, and specialises in biotechnology and the life sciences. He assists with the assessment of patentability, the drafting and prosecution of patent applications and the strategic management of patent portfolios. Chong-Yee also provides comprehensive legal advice on freedom-to-operate analyses, patent validity and infringement opinions and global patent filing strategies.
Whether advising on cutting-edge technologies or developing long-term IP strategies, Chong-Yee offers tailored guidance that maximises the value and protection of intellectual property assets, always aligning with clients' broader business objectives and commercial interests.
Biography
Chong-Yee is an experienced patent attorney (patent agent) qualified by examination with an extensive research background and over 28 years of experience as a patent and trade mark attorney in private practice and industry.
He is the first Singaporean patent attorney ever to be qualified by examination and is one of the few Singaporean patent attorneys qualifed in both the United Kingdom and at the European Patent Office.
Chong-Yee’s scientific knowledge and extensive working experience in Europe and Asia allow him to provide practical and commercially relevant advice to his clients, which have included universities, research institutes, startups, SMEs and large industrial clients in the United Kingdom, Denmark, the United States, Singapore and elsewhere. He has experience in industry, having been seconded as an in-house patent attorney to a large Danish diagnostics company.
Chong-Yee has taught biotech and chemical patent drafting at Queen Mary, University of London, Bournemouth University and the Graduate Certificate in IP Law course, National University of Singapore. He was also a lecturer on several commercial patent law courses in London, Singapore and Malaysia.
Before setting up Cantab IP, Chong-Yee was a partner in the chemistry, biotechnology and life sciences group at one of the leading patent and trade mark firms in the United Kingdom.
Speaking Engagements
- Fast Track or Slow Lane? Strategies for Accelerating and Delaying Patent Prosecution in Singapore (Institute of Patent and Trade Mark Attorneys (IPTA, Australia) and the Compagnie Nationale des Conseils en Propriété Industrielle (CNCPI, France), April 2025)
- Patent Term Extensions for Pharmaceutical Patents in South East Asia (Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys, September 2024)
- Patent Sufficiency in Singapore: The Court of Appeal Judgement in IIa Technologies Pte Ltd v Element Six Technologies Ltd (Capital Intellectual Property Services Association (CIPSA, China), July 2024)
- Patentable Subject Matter and Exclusions from Patentability in Singapore (Institute of Patent and Trade Mark Attorneys (IPTA, Australia) and the Compagnie Nationale des Conseils en Propriété Industrielle (CNCPI, France), April 2024)
- Patent Prosecution in Singapore: Best Practices (Korean Patent Attorneys Association (KPAA), March 2023)
- Patent Amendments: Best Practices to Avoid Hazards (Japanese Patent Attorneys Association (JPAA), February 2022)
- Patent Amendments: Best Practices to Avoid Hazards (American Intellectual Property Lawyers Association (AIPLA), March 2022)
- “Same-Same” but Not Quite: Singapore Patent Formalities (CIPA IP Paralegals Virtual Conference, September 2021)
- Member of Asia Pacific Panel (CIPA Life Sciences Conference, November 2019)
- Asia-Pacific IP Update (CIPA Life Sciences Conference, November 2016)
Qualifications
- Registered Singapore Patent Agent
- ISTMA Registered Trade Mark Agent (Singapore)
- European Patent Attorney
- Chartered Patent Attorney (United Kingdom)
- Unified Patent Court (UPC) Representative (Europe)
- European Patent Litigator
- Intellectual Property Litigation Certificate (United Kingdom)
- European Trade Mark and Design Attorney (to 2020)
Memberships
- Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys (CIPA), United Kingdom
- Member of epi (the Institute of Professional Representatives before the EPO)
- Member of the Association of Singapore Patent Agents (ASPA), executive committee member (2008-2011, 2015-present)
- Member of the Asian Patent Attorneys Association (APAA Singapore chapter)
- Regulated by the Intellectual Property Regulation Board (IPReg), United Kingdom
- Member of the American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA)
- Member of the International Trademark Association (INTA)
- Member of the British Society of Cell Biology (BSCB)
Chong-Yee is an active member of the Executive Committee of the Association of Singapore Patent Agents (ASPA) and the International Liaison Committee of the Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys (CIPA), where he leads the South East Asia / Australasia Working Group.
He regularly attends American Intellectual Property Lawyers Association (AIPLA) meetings, the Annual Meeting of the International Trade Mark Association (INTA), the BIO International Convention (Bio), the Asian Patent Attorneys Association Meeting (APAA) and the CIPA Life Sciences Conference (CIPA Biotech).
Scientific and Technical
Chong-Yee obtained a Double First Class Honours degree in Natural Sciences from Queens’ College, Cambridge and is a Foundation Scholar at Queens’ College.
At Cambridge, he received a broad scientific training in the physical and life sciences, including physics, inorganic chemistry, organic chemistry, physical chemistry, biochemistry, zoology and molecular and cell biology. Chong-Yee also has postgraduate research experience with a doctorate (PhD) from Cambridge University, where he spent four years doing laboratory research on DNA replication and the cell cycle at the Wellcome Trust/Cancer Research UK Institute (now the Gurdon Institute).
He is an author on two Nature papers and one in Current Biology.
Personal
Chong-Yee is a qualified orchid judge accredited to the British Orchid Council. He was Chairman of the Judging Committee of the 20th World Orchid Conference in 2011 in Singapore. In his spare time, he is a keen road cyclist, photographer and computer programmer. He enjoys cricket as a spectator and listening to the music of Stephen Sondheim.