Yan Shao Tan

Yan Shao Tan is the founder and CEO of Cat and Pillar, a boutique intellectual property firm in Singapore 
dedicated to high-level trademark prosecution and brand strategy. With a unique professional background spanning over eight years as a trademark examiner at the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS), Yan Shao offers an insider’s perspective that bridges the gap between regulatory requirements and client objectives.

During his tenure at IPOS, Yan Shao was instrumental in the redesign and implementation of the national trademark filing and examination systems. His innovative contributions, including the development of user interface improvements and mobile-first registration tools, earned him two PS21 ExCEL Awards from the Public Service Division of the Singapore government. This experience provided him with a profound, technical mastery of both national trademark procedures and the complexities of the Madrid Protocol.

Since founding Cat and Pillar in 2021, Yan Shao has built a reputation for exceptional precision and strategic advocacy. He is highly regarded for his ability to provide diagnostic, pre-filing assessments with an accuracy rate exceeding 98%. His practice focuses on navigating the most challenging aspects of trademark prosecution, including overcoming absolute and relative grounds refusals and managing complex multi-jurisdictional portfolios. He routinely achieves successful outcomes in single rounds of appeal – a feat statistically rare in the field, by applying rigorous legal reasoning and evidence-free arguments for inherent distinctiveness.

Yan Shao serves a diverse clientele ranging from fast-growing startups to multi-billion-dollar international corporations in sectors including fintech, AI, blockchain, and retail. His work is characterized by a commitment to straightforward, actionable advice and a rejection of legal jargon. Recognized in major industry rankings such as IP STARS and WTR 1000, Yan Shao is a sought-after authority for brands that require reliable, expert, and results oriented trademark strategies in Singapore and across the global marketplace.

• Healthcare Prosecution Strategy: Advised a healthcare brand on an absolute grounds refusal that had been labeled "impossible to register" by previous counsel. By delivering a targeted argument centered on inherent distinctiveness, the firm secured registration in a single round without needing to file extensive evidence of use.
• Fintech International Expansion: Guided a multinational fintech organization through a complex, multi-jurisdictional trademark portfolio strategy across 46 countries. The firm harmonized specifications across diverse classification systems to minimize refusal risks, successfully facilitating the client’s global brand deployment.
• Retail Non-Use Revocation: Represented a retail brand in a contentious matter against a cited mark that appeared to be unused. By initiating a strategic non-use revocation proceeding, the firm effectively compelled the opponent to negotiate, ultimately clearing the path for the client’s registration while preserving their commercial position.
• Slogan Distinctiveness Assessment: Advised a government agency on the registrability of a slogan-form trademark in a sector where such marks face strict scrutiny. The firm accurately predicted registration outcomes through an in-depth analysis of examination trends, achieving a successful registration on a prima facie basis.

• B.Eng (Hons), National University of Singapore, 2013
• Specialist Certificate in Intangible Asset Management, IPOS International, 2020

• ISTMA, 2025
• FLA, 2025