Artricle contributed by Najwa Hamid, Officer, Bar Council Secretariat; and photos by Jul Indra Tofan, Administrative Assistant, Bar Council Secretariat
On 9 Jan 2018, the Bar Council Intellectual Property Committee (“IPC”) held an exciting event entitled “Bar Wars!”, which featured the staging of a mock trial on intellectual property issues, at the Bar Council Raja Aziz Addruse Auditorium, Straits Trading Building.
The participants were briefed before the mock trial, and led through the process of trial preparation, and consultations with counsel. The trial then commenced and included examples of preliminary objections, presentation of witness testimonies, and cross–examination of witnesses, followed by legal submissions before the presiding judge, which was role–played by Karen Abraham. Counsel for the plaintiff were portrayed by Michael Soo and Janini R Rajeswaran. Teo Bong Kwang and Indran Shanmuganathan acted as counsel for the defendant.
The participants were exposed to many aspects of a trial involving intellectual property issues, including dealing with an expert witness and how to subpoena a witness.
The witnesses — all members of IPC — who underwent rigorous cross–examination were portrayed by Cindy Goh Joo Seong, Sri Sarguna Raj, Stanley Lee Wai Jin and Yong Li Hsien.
This edition of Bar Wars! was indeed a special event, as it was a tribute to the late Wong Sai Fong, a beloved and active former senior member of IPC, who served on the committee for over 15 years.
The 99 participants — consisting of Members of the Bar, pupils in chambers, law students and non–members — showed keen interest in intellectual property law, and provided positive feedback about the event.