Tsai Lee & Chen ascends to the top Tier on the patent prosecution ranking this year on the back of rave reviews from clients. "We would highly recommend Tsai Lee & Chen to others for its excellent knowledge of the law and attentiveness to our needs. When sending patent applications to the firm, we always receive prompt confirmation and the work is carried out with a high degree of accuracy," says a client who entrusts the firm with patent prosecution work.
Another client says: "It can think about detailed matters for clients and think from the client's perspective. It reminds us of the details we have to be aware of in filings, provides us with updated market information and knows the Taiwan, China and the US markets well."
Tsai Lee & Chen has been actively bolstering its offering in contentious matters to provide clients with a one-stop IP shop. For instance, Zalman Tech, a Korean computer hardware manufacturer, enlisted the firm's help to defend it from a patent infringement suit and to file a patent invalidation claim before the IP Court in 2010. On the trade mark side, head of trade marks Yiling Liu acted for India Tea Board and successfully opposed a French lingerie company's application for the mark Darjeeling. The Darjeeling word and logo marks are protected geographical indications in India, but neither was a registered trade mark in Taiwan when the French company filed the application. TIPO acknowledged that Darjeeling is a world-renowned mark and ruled in favour of the India Tea Board.
Liu and managing partner Thomas Tsai are singled out by a client for praise: "Ms Liu and Mr Tsai are extremely knowledgeable and efficient to work with. Their comprehensive knowledge and understanding of Asian IP law is a great asset to [us]." Another client has kind words for Candy Chen, who is in charge of patent matters: "I think she is a very capable professional. Many times I have follow-up questions to flesh out an issue, and Candy always promptly replies to my inquiries."