Asialaw Profiles
The Guide to the legal markets of the Asia-Pacific

Winkler Partners has market leading litigation skills relating to IP and technology-related matters. It has an impressive client list of corporations undertaking business in the US and Taiwan.

The litigation team’s busy year included advising an international distributor of motherboards and video cards against a Taiwan IT manufacturer in a contract dispute. The firm also acted for a French freight forwarder in a payment dispute against a Taiwan forwarder.

The firm’s domestic work included acting for a listed Taiwanese IT manufacturer in a product defect dispute against a contractor.

Winkler Partners is highly regarded for its trade mark and copyright work and has advised some of the largest global corporations on IP rights. Head of practice, partner Peter J Dernbach, “is technically strong and has great analytical skills”, says one client.

The firm represented one of the world’s largest semiconductor companies in obtaining a favourable judgment from the Intellectual Property Court and subsequently the Supreme Court. This was against a local company that had incorporated the client’s well known trade mark as a trade name.

Winkler Partners brings together Taiwanese and international expertise on creative, solutions-oriented work in the IT, telecommunications and media sectors.

The firm advised a major international cable TV channel and programming provider on licensing negotiations, Taiwan regulatory issues and other related matters. Another transaction saw the team represent a Taiwan-based vendor of geographical information systems in licensing arrangements.

Formosa Transnational

Formosa Transnational is very experienced in handling labour law issues, including issues surrounding severance pay and mass employee redundancy. A core segment of the team’s labour and employment practice is providing contract advice and dispute resolution services to Japanese clients. Deal highlights include advising a Japanese airline on regulations connected to the Labour Standards Act.

Lee Tsai & Partners

Lee Tsai & Partners provides the full range of labour and employment law services and is expert in drafting employee handbooks, corporate terminations and redundancies. The firm is also an industry leader in providing legal services to the technology industry. A notable highlight last year was representing Testrite Group in employment matters arising from the integration of its four subsidiaries, including HOLA Taiwan.

Lin & Partners

Although more renowned for its banking, finance and corporate work, Lin & Partners’ practice also has the ability to provide professional and efficient employment litigation advice. The firm was commissioned by the Financial Supervisory Commission, the highest banking regulator in Taiwan, to study the response to and protocols surrounding labour strikes by employees of banks in the US, Japan and South Korea.

Winkler Partners

Winkler Partners’ highly recommended labour practice has a team of very experienced practitioners handling a large number of employment-related cases. The firm represented a major global medical device company in a civil suit filed by a former employee in Taiwan. This cross border dispute required coordinating with counsel in other jurisdictions. Other work included advising international entertainment and integrated circuit multinationals on employee handbooks for their Taiwan operations.