Career and Experience

LLB (Hons), University of Singapore (1990)
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Admitted to: Singapore Bar (1991)

Selected Activities

Member of:
- Asian Patent Attorneys Association (APAA)
- The Federation Internationale Des Conseils En Propriete Industrielle (FICPI)
- The Association of Singapore Patent Agents
- The American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA)
- International Trademark Association
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He has authored a number of articles on Intellectual Property matters for international intellectual property law journals and is also the author of the Singapore chapter of Worldwide Trade Secrets Law published by Clark Boardman Callaghan and the author of the Singapore chapter on International Agency and Distribution Law (a compilation of the laws of a number of countries) and the Singapore chapter of International Franchising Law both published by Matthew Bender.​

NEWS AND INSIGHTS

06 April 2022

CLM v CLN and its Implications on Cryptocurrency

P. Sivakumar & Kimberly Dawn Becker

With more individuals owning, buying and transacting with cryptocurrency assets in recent years, the Singapore High Court’s (“High Court​”) judgement in CLM v CLN [2022] SGHC 46 (“CLM”) appears to provide welcome relief for users of cryptocurrency in that it opens up or, rather, confirms that there are possible legal avenues available to settle disputes arising out of their cryptocurrency assets.

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18 April 2020

COVID-19: COVID-19 and Some of the Rights and Obligations of Employers and Employees

​The COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the various measures taken by the Singapore government to prevent the further spread of the virus in Singapore, has had a significant impact on employers and employees in Singapore. This article aims to provide some guidance on some of the various rights and duties of employers and employees during this time, as well as the various employment-related legislation and advisories issued by the government in light of the pandemic. This article does not cover every advisory issued and you are encouraged to check here as well as the websites of the relevant ministries for advisories pertaining to your particular areas of business.

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05 February 2018

Listing Requirements

There are two main ways to list a company in Singapore, through the Mainboard Listing or the Catalist Listing. A company wishing to list on the Mainboard has to meet quantitative requirements. A Catalist Listing, on the other hand, does not involve any quantitative requirements and is tailored to faster-growing companies.

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18 January 2018

Listing a Company in Singapore

There are several advantages to listing a company.Firstly, listed companies benefit from access to increased capital and cheaper sources of capital as compared to traditional bank financing.

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P. Sivakumar has been in practice for more than 30 years. He is an Advocate & Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Singapore and a registered Singapore Patent Agent. He is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (U.K.) and a member of the Singapore Institute of Arbitrators.​

His practice specialties are corporate and commercial law, criminal law, intellectual property, information technology and media, tortious claims, insurance, employment, immigration and tax law.

He is also involved in commercial litigation and international and domestic arbitration and has represented a diverse array of local and multinational clients in civil litigation and arbitration.

He has advised and acted for clients in matters that are subject to both domestic and international arbitration, be it ad-hoc or under institutional rules such as the Singapore International Arbitration Centre, Singapore Institute of Architects, Refined Sugar Association (UK), Grain and Feed Trade Association (UK), and others, through which he has honed practical experience in construction, oil and gas and commodities related disputes across jurisdictions. He has also represented clients in court proceedings relating to the jurisdiction of arbitral tribunals, challenges to arbitral awards and attempts to resist enforcement of foreign arbitral awards.

In his corporate and commercial practice he has been involved in advising on mergers and acquisitions as well as in providing tax advice relating to investment structures and business operations.

Sivakumar has diverse experience in general and commercial litigation. He has handled cases involving contractual disputes, torts, negligence, libel and defamation, medical malpractice, employment disputes and debt recovery. His clients include corporations, clubs and societies and private clients such as medical professionals. He is seasoned in formulating litigation strategies for clients and is adept at managing negotiations and crisis communication.

His criminal practice is especially focused on “white-collar” offences. He has also been involved in the private prosecution of intellectual property offences initiated by intellectual property owners.

He has advised on block chain technology related matters as well as rendered opinions on coin offerings.

He has advised high net worth individuals and families on legal issues related to wealth planning and the setting up of trusts and family offices.

He has advised on various aspects of corporate governance issues including anti-trust, consumer protection and product liability. He has conducted programs for clients including financial institutions relating to personal data protection and privacy. He has advised on the sale and purchase of businesses and shares and has drafted documentation of various types of corporate financing structures for various clients including banks.

Sivakumar was the lead counsel in the first trade mark opposition case heard by the highest court in Singapore and was lead counsel in the first patent infringement case under the new Singapore Patents Act before the highest court in Singapore. His experience in patent infringement litigation caused him to propose changes to the Singapore Rules of Court governing patent litigation and he was invited by the Rules Committee of the Supreme Court to sit in a sub-committee of the Rules of Court Working Committee to propose new rules governing patent litigation in Singapore. The new rules have since been adopted in Singapore.

Aside from contentious matters, Sivakumar also assists his clients in the drafting and review of their agreements relating to commercial transactions and intellectual property, including distributorships, franchises and licensing.

He has organised programs to conduct full audits of their intellectual property rights to advise them on how best to safeguard, exploit and enforce those rights. He also regularly advises clients on anti-counterfeiting campaigns.

Sivakumar has been involved in advising local and multinational companies on various aspects of employment law including the drafting of template employment contracts as well as individualised employment contracts for key appointment holders. In addition, he has created employment policies and manuals for use by the human resource departments of various companies. He has regularly advised on breaches of employment contract and has represented employers in legal proceedings in the Singapore courts in relation to breaches of trade secrets and breaches of the duty of good faith and fidelity. He has also regularly advised clients on the secondment of employees to other countries.

With Sivakumar’s extensive corporate, finance and disputes expertise, he has advised and acted for liquidators in both compulsory and voluntary liquidation proceedings, including on issues such as directors’ duties, insolvent trading, and potential dissipation of assets. He has also advised and acted in proceedings with cross-border elements, having advised liquidators and creditors on the recovery of assets across jurisdictions.

​Sivakumar has been a speaker at various conferences and forums on legal issues both locally and overseas.

Reported cases

• Mohsin Abdullah Alesayi v Brooks Exim Pte Ltd [1993] 2 SLR(R) 558
• Abdul Mutaif Bin Sultan v Surya Abbas Syauta and Others [1993] SGHC 182
• Re Venice-Simplon Orient Express Inc [1994] 2 SLR(R) 664
• Kellogg Co v Pacific Food Products Sdn Bhd [1998] 2 SLR(R) 144
• Kellogg Co v Pacific Food Products Sdn Bhd [1998] 3 SLR(R) 904
• Radcoflex Australia Pty Ltd and Another v James Lim Hwa Chin and Another [2000] SGHC 96
• Merck & Co Inc v Pharmaforte Singapore Pte Ltd [2000] 2 SLR(R) 708
• Atlas Vending Pte Ltd v Pepsico Inc [2001] SGIPOS 3
• Potomac Tobacco Company Limited v Ritkam Trading & Manufacturing Pte Ltd [2002] SGIPOS 10
• Asian Aisle Pte Ltd v Ricegrowers Co-operative Limited [2002] SGIPOS 7
• Cocon Food Industries Sdn Bhd v Conoco, Inc [2003] SGIPOS 11
• Smile Inc Asia Pte Ltd v Britesmile International Ltd [2004] SGIPOS 1
• First Principal Financial Planning Pte Ltd v Principal Financial Group, Inc [2004] SGIPOS 11
• Trek Technology (Singapore) Pte Ltd v FE Global Electronics Pte Ltd and others and other suits [2005] 3 SLR(R) 389
• Pacific Rim Industries Inc. v Valentino Globe B.V. [2008] SGIPOS 6
• Trident Pharm Pte Ltd v Yong Pei Pei Tracey and another [2015] CA 67/2014