Specialising in trade mark, patent, copyright and design management and strategy, Renee Xavier is a powerful Intellectual Property (IP) Lawyer. She’s practiced law in Singapore, Malaysia, and the United Kingdom in various industries including, but not limited to: retail and apparel, media, financial services, consumer products, food and beverage, hospitality, pharmaceutical, as well as Internet and technology.

Renee is the founder of Alpha & Omega Law Corporation, heading a team of innovative lawyers. We are honoured to introduce her to you in this detailed Spotlight Interview.

Tell us about you and your business/career, and what you were doing before?

I qualified as a lawyer in 1990 and started my practice as a litigator in civil and commercial matters. I then moved to a practice specializing in real estate and property law and then to banking and corporate law. I came full circle when I was offered a job in one of Singapore’s largest Intellectual Property (IP) Consultancy firms. Practicing pure IP law there, I knew I had found my true calling.

In 2003, I founded the brand Alpha & Omega to practice IP law. My mission was to bring the value and benefits of using IP as a value driver to Singapore businesses, and raise awareness in Singapore in collaboration with IP and respect of IP. I started advising my clients to look beyond protection, to commercializing their IP assets by making small but steady inexpensive changes in their way of thinking, business goals and strategy. It’s been a long journey but today Alpha & Omega’s practice focuses on helping its clients (individuals, start-ups, SMEs, multinationals and not-for-profits) plan and carry out business growth via business modeling and, ultimately, moving the product from napkin to market. Our goal for all our clients is sustainable growth and profits utilizing their intellectual property to achieve this.

A Unique Love For Intellectual Property For Revenue

Very early on, since being introduced to the law of Intellectual Property (IP), I enjoyed going into every detail of IP on a daily basis, not just from the legal aspect but also from a business aspect. I was not happy with just focusing my practice on the protection of IP: I wanted businesses to utilize their IP to generate revenue. I discovered 10 years ago that there was a broader category of intangible assets, which were so much wider, and when combined with the IP of the business, this made up almost 80% of a business’ assets. These assets were under-utilized and as far as Singapore companies were concerned, these assets were unknown to them. It became my mission to encourage my clients to think beyond protection of IP and instead protection for with the purpose of generating revenue – commercializing of IP. When I am able to obtain a eureka moment from my client on the great benefits of strategic management of their IP as opposed to ad-hoc actions on their IP, it is really a sense of accomplishment for me and my team.

On a personal front, I am enjoying my practice. I left the corporate race 13 years ago but I continue to enjoy being involved in the corporate world at my own pace. When life starts to pass a little too fast for me and my team, I make the decision for all of us to step back and smell the roses without compromising our clients’ businesses. I am truly enjoying the ride!

Careers Don’t Necessarily Need Dreams

“Failure is not an option.” I purchased a magnet from a museum in Washington some time ago; it had this saying with the image of an astronaut on it. This is my constant reminder to myself. I never really had a dream for my career! Nevertheless, I am happy where I am now. My experience of being an entrepreneur is that the good periods come in waves. There are always new challenges, because the essence of keeping a business successful (and making it work) is the need to innovate. Innovation means change and change can be uncomfortable. Yes, I do have days that I don’t feel like going into my own office; there are days I wonder where all this is leading to. All I can say is: don’t despair, keep at it, you are just turning a corner and once you’ve maneuvered the turn you will see the road ahead clearly… until the next turn.

Life Lesson Learned Young

I was a very young lawyer advising an elderly, successful, Japanese businessman. One day he invited me to lunch with his family and told me, that to succeed in business, never say you can’t do something your client asks of you. Always say you can and then work very hard and find out how to do it and deliver it. I have since put this to practice – understanding my clients’ needs and limitations and trying my best to find powerful solutions for them.

If you could do it all again, what would you do differently?

I would have taken more risks right from the start!

Please share a quote or saying that you live by

“Use it or lose it, don’t let your trade mark value be lost”