Robin Bridge & John Liu

Corporate and Commercial

RBJL provide all-rounded corporate and commercial legal advice and services to our local and overseas clients in relation to their business establishments in Hong Kong and the People’s Republic of China. With over 20 years of experience, we provide clients with quality corporate services. Our major services include:-

• Acquisitions, sale or restructuring of assets, businesses and companies takeovers and mergers
• Agency and distribution agreements, manufacturing agreements
• Agreements on supply of goods and services
• Companies liquidation, debt restructuring and corporate reconstructions
• Company secretarial and nominee shareholder services
• Compliance of Companies Ordinance
• Consultancy agreements
• De-registration and resurrection of companies
• Distribution agreements
• Formation of companies and business establishments in Hong Kong and China
• Franchising agreements
• Increase or reduction of share capital
• Joint venture agreements, partnership and shareholders agreements
• Licence agreements

Employment

Advice on employment issues has hitherto been one of the most needed services of our clients. RBJL have represented clients in various sectors, including international financial service companies, private hospitals, industrialists and schools. Likewise, we have also represented employees to secure their rights and entitlement under their employment contracts as well as under the Employment Ordinance. Our services include:-

• Claims against ex-employees for misappropriation of employer’s property, breach of confidence, breach of duty of fidelity, breach of restrictive covenants for soliciting business from customers of employers, enticing employees of employer to join ex-employee’s business
• Employment contracts and handbooks
• Employees’ compensation claims
• Data privacy protection
• Discrimination claims based on disability, family status, sex and race, including Equal Opportunities Commission investigation and mediation
• Restructuring of organisations, including devising strategies for termination of employment and re-deployment
• Termination of employment, including claims for unfair and wrongful dismissal

Family Law

The family law practice at RBJL encompasses a broad range of legal matters including but not limited to contentious and non-contentious divorce, custody and maintenance matters, preparation of separation agreements, applications for ancillary relief, enforcement and variation of court orders, and applications for wardship, guardianship and adoption of children. We also advise and assist clients on matrimonial property disputes and applying for injunctions to meet clients’ urgent needs.

Our practice areas include:-

• Ancillary relief application
• Application for removal of children from jurisdiction
• Custody /access application
• Enforcement of court orders
• Injunctive relief
• Maintenance pending suit
• Separation agreements
• Variation of court orders
• Wardship, guardianship and adoption applications
• Wife/Husband/Joint Application for Divorce
• Adultery
• Unreasonable behavior
• year separation with consent
• 2-year separation
• 1-year desertion

Intellectual and Industrial Property

RBJL advise clients on how to navigate the legal minefield in which intellectual property interests clash with unscrupulous industrial copying and technical ingenuity. With the setting up of our wholly owned intellectual property agency (Robin Bridge & John Liu (Beijing) Intellectual Property Agency Limited) in PRC in 2012, RBJL offers direct registration and enforcement services tailored to the specific needs of our clients. 

We assist clients on IP acquisition, exploitation and enforcement. Over the years, we have represented numerous overseas, multi-national and local companies in relation to their intellectual property matters. We represented parties in arguably two of the largest patent trials in the legal history of Hong Kong. We also represented two copyright licensing bodies and a number of record companies in a number of cases at the Copyright Tribunal against the biggest television station and the largest karaoke chain in Hong Kong.

RBJL have been selected by Asia IP magazine to be one of the 10 top IP firms in Hong Kong for three consecutive years (2011 - 2013) and by Asian Legal Business (ALB) magazine to be a leading Full Service IP Law Firm 2010. For the second year in a roll, RBJL have been placed in the prestigious Silver Tier by the 2014 World Trademark Review 1000. RBJL is also listed in the Intellectual Property Category of The Legal 500. RBJL has also persistently maintained high rankings in the annual worldwide surveys conducted by Managing Intellectual Property magazine for Patents, Trade Marks and Copyrights in Hong Kong.

Our services include:

Acquisition

• Devising Chinese and English trade marks in accordance with clients’ needs
• Providing opinions on trade mark registrability and availability for use
• Filing and prosecuting trade mark applications in Hong Kong, China and worldwide
• Appearing before the Registrar of Trade Marks in Hong Kong at registrability hearings
• Lodging trade mark oppositions, cancellation, rectification and invalidation proceedings in Hong Kong, China and other jurisdictions
• Filing reviews with the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board as well as filing appeals with the People’s Court in China
• Due diligence of IP assets, including due diligence on validity of patents
• Providing patentability advice
• Drafting patent specifications
• Devising worldwide patent filing strategies
• Filing and prosecuting patent and design applications in Hong Kong, China and worldwide
• Issuing proceedings at the High Court of Hong Kong seeking post-grant amendments to Hong Kong Standard Patents and Hong Kong Short Term Patents
• Providing patent non-infringement opinion
• Patent landscaping
• Managing and maintaining worldwide trade mark, patent and design portfolios for clients
• Recordal of licences, assignments, change of legal entity, change of address etc.
• Copyright registrations in jurisdictions such as China, USA

Exploitation

• Sale and purchase agreements and assignment of IP assets
• License agreements, and recordal at the relevant IP Offices worldwide
• Franchise agreements
• Character merchandising, endorsement and sponsorship
• Distribution agreements
• Development agreements
• Know-how agreements
• Confidentiality agreements
• Joint venture agreements involving acquisition of IP rights, structuring of proprietorship among the joint venture group of companies
• Monitoring third parties’ patent, design and trade mark rights

Enforcement

• Tackling offending company names
• Watching services
• Monitoring trade fairs
• Investigating and obtaining evidence of infringing activities
• Preparing, lodging request and liaising with Hong Kong and PRC Customs on the enforcement of trade marks and copyright including requesting actions by the Hong Kong Customs during various international trade fairs that take place in Hong Kong
• Issuing and defending civil proceedings for or against IP related infringement
• Applying for interim injunctive relief, including Anton Piller Orders
• Initiating administrative, criminal and civil actions in China against IP infringement
• Representing copyright licensing bodies and copyright owners at the Copyright Tribunal
• Issuing contempt proceedings

Litigation

RBJL have a very strong reputation in litigation. Indeed over the years we have represented clients at various levels of Courts ranging from the District Court all the way up to the Court of Final Appeal, our final appellate court. We represent both overseas and local clients in relation to a wide range of disputes, in particular, intellectual property infringement, breach of duty of confidence, duty of fidelity and restrictive covenants by ex-employees, shareholders disputes, sale of goods disputes, probate disputes and personal injuries, in Hong Kong as well as in the People’s Republic of China. 

Our practice areas include:

• Administrative laws - judicial reviews
• Alternative Dispute Resolution - arbitration and mediation
• Commercial - shareholders disputes, protection of minority shareholders, breach of directors’ duties, breach of guarantee, breach of fiduciary duties, trust disputes, misappropriation of clients’ funds, winding up of companies on just and equitable ground, receiverships, company liquidations, bankruptcies, sale of goods disputes, agency disputes
• Construction disputes
• Debt action - recovery of debts
• Employer/employee disputes - misappropriation of ex-employer’s confidential information and breach of restrictive covenants, including misappropriating ex-employer’s property, soliciting business from ex-employer’s customers, enticing ex-employers’ employees to join departing employee’s business
• Enforcement - enforcement of judgments and orders in Hong Kong and overseas, contempt proceedings, writ of fieri facias, charging orders, orders for sale, garnishee orders, prohibition orders, examination of debtors
• Intellectual property - infringement of trade marks, passing off, registered designs, patents, trade secrets, copyright, breach of restrictive covenants, breach of confidence
• Interim reliefs - interim preservation of assets, including applying for Mareva injunctions, Anton Piller injunctions and Norwich Pharmacal orders
• Personal injuries - employees’ compensation, dental/medical negligence, death inquest and other personal injuries actions
• Probate disputes - probate and assets distribution disputes including obtaining forensic expert evidence to challenge the authenticity of wills
• Property - property and tenancy disputes, adverse possession, recovery of land, breach of Deed of Mutual Covenant, appeals to Lands Tribunal

Property

RBJL’s well-established property and conveyancing practice covers a wide range of property related transactions including Hong Kong Housing Authority projects (HOS scheme, PSPS projects, Home Starter Loan Scheme), village house sales and purchases, bank loan finance and mortgages, commercial and residential leases, property-related litigation, tenancy disputes and single transaction sales and purchases/mortgages.

We are on the approved panel of  major banks and financial institutions. Further, we have also engaged in matters concerning real estate acquisition and development including preparing tender for sale and purchase of a whole building, modification of land grant and usage conditions, procurement of government consents for sale, construction development and sale of real estate projects.

We also act for Hong Kong listed management companies in relation to property management related matters including rendering advice on building management, incorporated owners and preparing charges for property. We regularly advise on urban redevelopment projects including real estate acquisition and development in light of the urban redevelopment policies promulgated by the Government in recent years.

Over the years, we have built up an extensive network of clients and connections comprising property developers, public bodies, government agencies, enterprises, banks, financial institutions and individuals.

Our practice areas include:

• Applications to the relevant authorities for approvals such as Consent to Pre-sale, Consent to Lease, Modification of the terms of Government Leases such as change of user
• Development, financing and sale of real estate projects, review and advice on Government Grant, and the drafting of Deeds of Mutual Covenant, building management agreement and other relevant documents
• Land development and redevelopment projects including residential estates, shopping arcades, office buildings, service apartments, hotels, data centres and projects along the MTR and Airport Express routes
• Mortgages and other legal documents for banks, financial institutions and individuals
• Sale and purchase, sub-sale and purchase, mortgage, lease and property management of the residential, industrial and commercial buildings (both completed and uncompleted buildings, Consent and Non-consent Schemes)