Audrey Yap is a founding partner and Head of the Intellectual Property Department of Yusarn Audrey.
Audrey’s career in law spans over 2 decades. She is well known amongst her clients and peers as an astute IP lawyer and strategist, helping to shape her clients’ IP portfolios and worldwide IP strategies to better extract value from their IP assets. Audrey was named as one of Singapore’s leading lawyers in the 2008 Who’s Who Legal. She was the only lawyer from South East Asia named in 2009 and 2010 as one of the 250 World’s Leading IP Strategists (IAM 250) in a London based survey conducted by IAM magazine (www.iam-magazine.com/strategy300/). She was listed again as the only lawyer from Singapore on the IAM 250 in 2011 and the IAM 300 from 2012 to 2016. In 2017, Audrey is listed in the IAM 300 magazine again for the 9th consecutive year.

Audrey served as the Regional Consultant (IP) to the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) from 2004 to 2006 to design and head up a study involving IP as an economic tool for ASEAN where she provided expert advice and support to the ASEAN Secretariat and the ASEAN Working Group on IP Cooperation (AWGIPC). She also served as an external expert for the European Patent Office (EPO) under the EC-ASEAN IP Cooperation Programme in 2004. Audrey was selected by WIPO to serve on a high level expert panel in 2015 on International Technology Transfer in Geneva under the WIPO Development Agenda framework. She is an Adjunct Fellow of the Intellectual Property Academy of Singapore and served as an examiner for the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS) for the Patents Agents qualifying exams for several years.

Audrey continues to serve as IP expert and consultant for various EU Trade related Technical assistance Programmes (EUTRTA) and WIPO supported initiatives in China, Vietnam, Philippines, Brunei and Thailand.

Audrey was also appointed in 2011 under a trade related project funded by European Union as the expert assisting IPO Philippines in a national project in developing the model for Innovation & Tech support offices (ITSOs) throughout the country and providing training for 28 Philippines Universities involved.

In 2012, Audrey served on IPOS Steering Committee on a National IP Competency Framework as well as on the IP Sub Committee on “Developing a vibrant market place for IP transactions and commercialisation” for the purpose of the IP Hub Master Plan for Singapore, launched in March 2013. Audrey served on Innovation and Enterprise Industry Expert Panel for the National Research Foundation (NRF) under Prime Minister’s office of Singapore 2014/2015.

Audrey’s area of practice includes advising her clients on Intellectual Capital management and aligning a company’s IP portfolio with its commercialisation strategy; advising on the management, protection and enforcement of all intellectual property rights including patents, trademarks, industrial designs and copyright; intellectual property licensing, franchising, technology transfer, securitization of IP assets and crafting of appropriate IP policies. She also files and prosecutes patent, trademark and industrial design applications both nationally and internationally.

Audrey has acted for a variety of local and foreign companies and institutions including listed and private companies, multi-national corporations, government linked companies, hospitals, research institutes, pharmaceutical and medical apparatus companies, large public cooperatives, technology companies, venture capitalists, foreign and local law firms and individuals.

Audrey is a much sought after speaker at several local and international business and legal seminars and conferences. She has presented at the WIPO and Institute of South East Asian Studies (ISEAS) Regional Conference on 16-17 February 2011, the WIPO regional symposium In Hong Kong in October 29&30 2009, the Japan Institute of Invention and Innovation (JIII) IP workshop in June 2009, the ASEAN IPA annual conference in Manila Philippines (13-15 March 2008) and conducted a two day WIPO workshop at MyBiotech Corporation, KL Malaysia in the same year. Audrey was also a plenary speaker for Europe Asia Patent Information Conference held in Singapore in March 2004 and was a guest lecturer at Beijing University in 2005 on IP management. She had also presented at Fordham University, New York, USA on World IP day in 2006.

Audrey was invited as guest speaker for seminars organized by various local institutions and organizations such as the International Enterprise Singapore (IE Singapore), the Housing and Development Board (HDB), the Building and Construction Authority of Singapore (BCA), Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Institute of Engineers Singapore (IES), the NUS Engineering Faculty, Singapore Society for Microbiology, Biotechnology and Centre for Life Sciences & Chemical Technology, Ngee Ann Polytechnic, Licensing Executives Society (Singapore) and the Franchising And Licensing Association Singapore (FLA).

• Member, Board of Directors, IP Office of Singapore
• Director, IPOS International
• Chair, SMEC Innovation Sub-committee, Singapore Business Federation (SBF)
• Recommended Individual, World Intellectual Property Review (WIPR)
• Board Member, IP ValueLabs
• Independent Director, listco Old Chang Kee Ltd
• Member, Singaporean-German Chamber of Industry and Commerce (SGC)
• President, Licensing Executives Society (Singapore) (2011/2013)
• Chairperson, Asia Pacific Committee, Licensing Executives Society International (2010 – To Date)
• Legal Counsel, Licensing Executives Society International Board (2013/2014)
• Treasurer and Exco Member, Association of Singapore Patent Agents (till 2009)
• Council Member, Association of Small & Medium Enterprises (ASME) (till 2013)
• Singapore representative, Asian Patent Attorneys Association (Singapore Group)
• Chairman, Singapore Prestige Brand Awards (2012/2013)
• Adjunct Fellow, IP Academy of Singapore
• Member, International Trademark Association (INTA)
• Member, ASEAN Intellectual Property Association (ASEAN IPA)
• Member, Franchising and Licensing Association Singapore (FLA)
• Member, International Association for the Protection of Intellectual Property (AIPPI)
• Member, Law Society of Singapore
• Member, Singapore Academy of Law

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