We are happy to announce that Adrian Lo has been appointed by the Film Censorship Authority to serve as a member of the Panel of Advisers (Film Censorship) for the Office for Film, Newspaper and Article Administration from 1 October 2022 to 30 September 2023.

The Panel of Advisers is established under the Film Censorship Ordinance (Cap.392). Members of the Panel of Advisers provide their views on the classification of films to assist censors in making classification decisions.

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Dr Christopher To co-authored the latest edition (August 2022) of Mediation in Hong Kong: Law & Practice published by Wolters Kluwer, sharing his insights from a practitioner’s perspective on the law, practice and developments of mediation in Hong Kong SAR.

Dr To also co-annotated the latest issue (August 2022) of the Arbitration Ordinance (Cap.609) in the Annotated Ordinances of Hong Kong published by LexisNexis, Butterworths.

Dr To has very kindly donated a copy of the books to the Chambers library.

Dr To is a recognised authority on ADR techniques and has represented clients in arbitrations, adjudications, mediations, commission on inquiry and court litigation.

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On 30 June 2022, the High Court handed down its reasons for judgment in Lau Tung Hoi Kent v Lau Tung Kuen [2022] HKCFI 1921. Au Lut Chi and Griffith Cheng represented the Plaintiff. They removed the Defendant as executor of the estate in question. The Plaintiff is the younger brother of the Defendant and a beneficiary of the estate under Will.

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Gilt Chambers is currently inviting tenancy applications from motivated and talented barristers at all levels of call.

The high degree of collegiality and diversity of practice areas and interests among members of Gilt Chambers foster innovation and facilitate members to provide high quality legal works to clients. This offers an ideal environment for both established practitioners and juniors setting out to develop their practices.

Gilt Chambers has also recently been refurbished to provide a delightful workplace and equipped with new technologies to support remote Court hearings and online conferences.

Confidential tenancy enquiries and applications may be sent to our Chambers Management Committee at [email protected].

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Congratulations to Sam Ng who has been appointed a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (FCIArb).

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Congratulations to Au Lut Chi and Ian Chu who have been appointed as Chairmen of the Appeal Tribunal Panel, pursuant to section 45 of the Buildings Ordinance (Cap.123) from 1 December 2021 to 30 November 2024.

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A hearing for an opposition to trade mark application was heard before the IP Department on 27 August 2021 and the decision was handed down on 5 November 2021. The opposition concerns a registration of a trade mark “金佛水” under class 35 by an earlier trade mark “大佛水”.

Ian Chu acted for the applicant in the said hearing. In short, the IP Department was of the view that:-

• There is insufficient evidence supporting that the earlier trade mark has been widely used in Hong Kong for a long time and therefore the use of it does not make the earlier trade mark more distinctive;
• The degree of similarity between two marks is only medium; and
• While the wholesale and retailing of medicines, Chinese herbal medicine and nasal spray under the subject class 35 (“Class A Services”) are complementary to the goods covered by earlier trade mark, others including the sale of tonic food, cosmetic and skincare products and nutritious food etc (“Class B Services”) are not similar to the goods covered by the earlier trade mark.

Accordingly, the IP Department rejected the opposition to the registration of the subject trade mark under Class B Services.

For the full Statement of Reasons for Decision by the IP Department, please see https://www.ipd.gov.hk/chi/intellectual_property/trademarks/trademarks_decisions/decision/DEC304805190OP.pdf or contact our Ian Chu.

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Recently, the Hong Kong courts have considered two important issues for lenders relating to jurisdiction clauses in finance documents:

1. Should the Hong Kong courts dismiss a winding up or bankruptcy petition if the relevant finance document is subject to an exclusive jurisdiction clause (EJC) in favour of a foreign court?

2. Will the Hong Kong courts give effect to asymmetric jurisdiction clauses?

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