It’s not often we get to write about Brunei. The country is often overshadowed by its much larger neighbours – it shares an island with Malaysia and Indonesia, and is, in fact, divided into two sections joined by Malaysia’s Asia Highway Route 150. Colin Ong, managing partner of Dr. Colin Ong Legal Services, in 2014 wrote for the Oxford Business Group that “Brunei Darussalam is a place of tranquility.”

But there are efforts underway to push technology to the forefront in Brunei. In May 2026, MIMOS, the Malaysian Institute of Microelectronic Systems, signed an agreement that will lead to a strategic partnership with its MIMOS International Venture Sdn Bhd (MIVSB) arm and Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD) to advance Malaysia’s deep-tech agenda while accelerating regional commercialization.

According to Bernama, the Malaysian news agency, the collaboration is aligned with Malaysia’s broader innovation agenda under its Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI) and supports Brunei’s aspirations to translate research excellence into socio-economic impact.

Both parties would explore the development of a cross-border innovation ecosystem, where research, intellectual property, and startups could be nurtured and guided towards market readiness across Malaysia and Brunei, and potentially into wider ASEAN markets, Bernama said.

In a statement, MIVSB said the partnership marks a significant milestone in Malaysia-Brunei innovation, while reflecting a shared commitment to foster cross-border collaboration and unlock the value of research through structured commercialization pathways. 

“This partnership brings together Malaysia’s experience in technology commercialization with Brunei’s growing research capabilities, creating opportunities for mutual growth and knowledge exchange,” said MIVSB, which is the commercialization arm of MIMOS Bhd, the national applied research and development centre under the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation.”

Bernama reported that the alignment “enables a seamless transition from early-stage innovation to real-world application, where ideas, intellectual property, and startups are systematically developed into scalable, market-ready solutions,” noting that UBD’s strength in generating interdisciplinary research, particularly in artificial intelligence, digital technologies and deep tech, is complemented by MIVSB’s structured framework in venture building, investment facilitation, and industry integration.

“Importantly, the partnership is envisaged as a platform for shared value creation, supporting talent development, encouraging responsible innovation, and strengthening the region’s collective capability in emerging technologies,” said MIVSB.

It is against that backdrop that we bring you our list of Brunei’s IP Experts, a list of 10 key intellectual property lawyers who almost certainly be involved in the future of IP in the kingdom.

Our list includes two lawyers each from AIP Law (Nur’Azizah Ahmad and Aisha Alkaff) and CCW Partnership (Hung Zheng On and Justin Phua), and one lawyer each from Cheok Advocates & Solicitors; Dr. Colin Ong Legal Services; LZ Hussain & Co.; Raed Lim Advocates and Solicitors, Y.C. Lee & Lee; and Yusof Halim & Partners.

Most of the lawyers named to our list have multiple practice specialties. Many of them are litigators, while others concentrate on prosecution work or provide strategic advice.

All of them have something in common: they are experts in their fields and, in one way or another, they provide extra value for their clients. They are Asia IP’s Brunei IP Experts. – GREGORY GLASS

Brunei’s IP Experts is based solely on independent editorial research conducted by Asia IP. As part of this project, we turned to in-house counsel in Southeast Asia and around the world, as well as Southeast Asia-focused partners at international law firms, and asked them to nominate private-practice lawyers including foreign legal consultants, advisers and counsel.

The final list reflects the nominations received combined with the input of the editorial team at Asia IP, which has nearly 55 years of collective experience in researching and understanding the Southeast Asian legal market.

All private practice intellectual property lawyers in Brunei were eligible for inclusion in the nominations process; there were no fees or other requirements for inclusion in the process.

The names of our 10 IP Experts are published here. Each IP Expert was given the opportunity to include their biography and contact details in print and on our website, for which a fee was charged.