Counsel

Michelle G. W. Yee

Intellectual Property, Technology, Media & Telecommunications

Overview

Michelle is a counsel in the IP & TMT group in Mayer Brown’s Hong Kong office and is the head of Mayer Brown’s Brand Management in Asia. Her practice covers all aspects of brand management work such as global trade mark prosecution, opposition, revocation/invalidation and cancellation actions, copyright and design registrations, intellectual property licences and assignments, franchise agreements, sponsorship agreements, non-disclosure agreements and data protection matters. Michelle has a strong track record advising both multinational and Asian businesses with a particular focus on Hong Kong and Greater China. She regularly assists clients with effective, practical and cost-efficient brand management strategies with the goal to strengthen and maintain their intellectual property portfolios in Asia and globally. 

Experience

  • Advised leading global and Hong Kong financial institutions on trade mark and IP matters, including managing their regional and global trade mark portfolios, conducting clearance searches for new business lines and advising on strategic filings to cover digital banking solutions.
  • Advised a pan-Asian FCMG retail and wholesale group on branding strategy and securing trade mark registrations for their innovative consolidated customer loyalty rewards programme covering their extensive retail and food and beverage businesses across Hong Kong.
  • Advised a leading Hong Kong-listed real estate group on their global trade mark portfolio, with a particular focus on contentious and non-contentious trade mark matters in Greater China. 
  • Advised various entities and business units (including businesses in real estate development, hospitality, food and beverage, aviation and shipping) of a Hong Kong- and London-based diversified conglomerate on their global trade mark portfolio. Key types of trade mark work include prosecution, oppositions, invalidations, cancellations / revocations, licensing, assignments and enforcement matters.

Related Services & Industries

Recognition

  • Notable Practitioner - Hong Kong – Managing IP IP Stars (2023)
  • Ranked World Trademark Review (WTR) 1000: China and SARs: Hong Kong (2023)
  • Rising Star - Intellectual Property, Hong Kong – The Legal 500 Asia Pacific (2023, 2024)
  • IP Rising Star – Euromoney Legal Media Group Women in Business Law Awards for APAC (2022)
  • Recommended - Individuals: Transactions, Hong Kong – IAM Patent 1000 (2022)
  • Rising Star 2020/21, Hong Kong – Managing IP IP Stars (2020)

Education

  • The University of Hong Kong, PCLL
  • University of Oxford, BA, Jurisprudence
  • University of British Columbia, BASc, Chemical Engineering

Admissions

  • Hong Kong

Languages

  • English
  • Cantonese
  • Mandarin
  • Shanghainese
  • French

Professional & Community Involvement

  • Member of The Hong Kong Institute of Trade Mark Practitioners
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