Khoo Guan Huat Partner

Contact
T +603 2081 3999 ext 737
E kgh@skrine.com
 

Overview

Guan Huat is a litigator with over 30 years of experience. He commenced his legal career with the Attorney-General’s Chambers in 1987 and joined Skrine in 1993. He is frequently called upon to act as senior counsel both in the litigation and arbitration space in commercial and civil disputes. He has also acted as lead counsel for Johor and Kelantan State Governments in several proceedings taken against the state governments.

Guan Huat also advises both financial and non-financial institutions on regulatory and compliance matters.

He is an adjunct faculty member of The ICLIF Executive Education Centre (part of Asia School of Business – in collaboration with MIT Sloan Management) and regularly speaks on its behalf on corporate liability and corporate governance matters. 

He was a member of the Malaysian delegation to the Arbitration Working Group at the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL).  The Arbitration Working Group’s efforts resulted in the revised UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules being published in 2010. 

He is a member of the Panels of Conciliators and Arbitrators of the International Centre for Settlement of Disputes (ICSID) for the period from 2021 to 2027. 

In 2008, he acted as counsel for a former Chief Justice in hearings conducted by a Royal Commission of Inquiry set up by the Malaysian government. Additionally, he has appeared as an expert witness on Malaysian law in several matters, including arbitration proceedings, in the United States and in Singapore.

 

Key Practice Areas

  • Commercial Litigation and Arbitration
  • Civil Litigation
  • IP Litigation and Enforcement
  • International Arbitration
 

  • Represented the national petrochemical company in land matters involving an Integrated Petroleum Complex;

  • Represented a number of insurance companies accused of infringing Competition Act 2010;

  • Represented Islamic Renaissance Front in Judicial Review proceedings to successfully quash the decision of the Minister of Home Affairs purporting to ban several publications;

  • Represented a client to successfully oppose the application of the Public Prosecutor claiming forfeiture of funds under anti-money-laundering legislation;

  • Represented a Port Authority to successfully obtain substantial damages against its former officers for breach of statutory duties;

  • Represented a major highway concessionaire in its dispute with the developer of an RFID device for use along the highways;

  • Represented a Malaysian airport operator in connection with claims for Passenger Service Charges, and claims arising from network interruption issues.

  • Represented a major multinational pharmaceutical company and obtained a declaratory judgment to invalidate a pharmaceutical patent against another multinational pharmaceutical company.

  • Represented a patentee in infringement proceedings in respect of a patent (telecommunications) considered as a standard essential patent.

  • ​Represented a major cargo scanning device manufacturer against defendants in an action for patent infringement and obtained an infringement judgment and injunction against the defendants.

  • Represented a multinational food and beverage company in defending an action for infringement of a registered Industrial Design, and obtained an appellate court decision reversing a finding of infringement, together with a decision invalidating the registered Industrial Design.

  • Represented a global international applications software provider against a defendant for copyright infringement, and obtained substantial damages after trial.

  • Represented a global pharmaceutical innovator company against a generics producer of a pharmaceutical product in claim involving infringement of a process patent.

  • Represented a global medical devices manufacturer against a Japanese company in a patent infringement claim.

  • Represented a China based home appliance manufacturer accused of patent infringement, and obtained an Appellate Court decision reversing a lower Court’s finding of infringement.

  • Represented a trademark owner whose registration was challenged in the Federal Court and obtained an order dismissing the challenge in a matter involving issues regarding whether a non-invented word having no direct reference to the character and quality of the goods was registerable as a trademark. Also obtained substantial damages for the trademark owner upon a finding of infringement.

  • Represented a major multinational defence equipment manufacturer and obtained an order dismissing a challenge against its trademark registration mounted by a competitor.

  • Represented a number of UK registered Design holders in a class action and obtained a declaration in respect of the extension of the validity of their registered designs for a 25-year period.

  • Represented an international telecommunications company with Standard Essential Patents dealing with FRAND issues.

  • Represented a major telecommunications company and obtained judgment for substantial damages against a corporate entity for copyright infringement and against its directors for being liable for joint infringement.

  • Appointed to act Arbitrator by the ICC, the AIAC and by disputants on ad-hoc appointments and appeared as counsel in a number of technology and telecommunications contract disputes. The disputes include those with respect to:
    • Mobile Virtual Network Operator and managed services for MVNO agreements
    • Software applications development agreements
    • Patent infringement and challenge to patent validity in respect of claims to invention of carriages of semiconductor packages
    • Agreement to Supply, Deliver and Install a PABX system for a Call Centre
    • Licence/Royalty Agreements

  • Acted in a number of cases in Court involving arbitration matters where the validity and/or existence of arbitration agreements and tribunal’s jurisdiction were challenged. These cases were brought all the way to the Federal Court of Malaysia, whether by way of motions for leave to appeal, or by way of substantive appeals. The issues in these cases, involved, among others:
    • Application of doctrine of estoppel in determining the validity of appointment of Arbitrator 
    • Jurisdiction of arbitrator to hear claims of indemnity/contribution by one Respondent against another Respondent in an arbitration
    • Interpretation of a number of related agreements to determine if an arbitration clause in one agreement supersedes another agreement stipulating the exclusive jurisdiction of the Court
  • Represented a major Indian petrochemical company and defended a challenge against an arbitral tribunal award mounted by the Government of India. Additionally, have also represented parties in a number of legal proceedings involving parties challenging arbitral awards.
  • Appointed to act Arbitrator by the ICC International Court of Arbitration, the Kuala Lumpur Regional Centre of Arbitration and by disputants on ad-hoc appointments and appeared as counsel in a number of technology and telecommunications contract disputes. The disputes include those with respect to:
    • Mobile Virtual Network Operator and managed services for MVNO agreements
    • Software applications development agreements
    • Patent infringement and challenge to patent validity in respect of claims to invention of carriages of semiconductor packages
    • Agreement to Supply, Deliver and Install a PABX system for a Call Centre
    • Licence/Royalty Agreements
  • Appointed as Arbitrator and acted as counsel in respect of various disputes, including those in respect of:
    • Agreements for the construction and completion of highways, airports, ports, hospitals, schools, factories, hotels and golf courses, palm oil mills and ammunition dump
    • Agreements for the sale and delivery of goods
    • Claims made pursuant to insurance policies

Professional Affiliations:
  • Member (designated by Government of Malaysia), Panels of Arbitrators and Conciliators of the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID)
  • Adjunct Faculty member, The ICLIF Executive Education Centre (part of Asia School of Business – in collaboration with MIT Sloan Management)
  • Listed on the panel of arbitrators of the Asian International Arbitration Centre
  • Panelist, Domain Name Dispute Resolution of the Asian Domain Name Dispute Resolution Centre and Asian International Arbitration Centre
  • Lecturer, Faculty of Law, University of Malaya in the Certificate in Legal Practice course, 1990 to 2004
  • Lecturer, the Law of International Trade in the LLM program in the University of Malaya in 1990
  • Registered Foreign Lawyer (full registration), Singapore International Commercial Court
  • Member, Board of Studies, Faculty of Law, University of Malaya (2015-present)
  • Member, Compensation Committee (2009-2010), Listing Committee (2010-2011), Market Participants Committee (2011-2020), Bursa Malaysia

  • Ranked in Band 1 by Chambers Asia-Pacific 2018 - 2021 for Intellectual Property.