Mr Shinichiro Ota,
Commissioner,
Japan Patent Office
Ms Liew Woon Yin,
Director-General,
Intellectual Property Office of Singapore
Ms Dilys Yong,
Group President,
HQ Link Private Limited
Distinguished participants,
Ladies and gentlemen.
I am happy to be here at OPTIMAL 2003. As we have heard, this prestigious event is brought to you by the Japan Patent Office (JPO), the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS) and HQ Link Singapore Private Limited. Singapore is honoured to host this inaugural event.
OPTIMAL 2003 heralds the start of a series of important international events to be co-organised annually by JPO and IPOS under the Japan-Singapore New-Age Economic Partnership Agreement. This Agreement includes mutual co-operation in areas such as promoting IP training, education and information sharing. In the field of IP development, Japan is a forerunner. Japan has an established and vibrant innovation culture and Japanese companies are well known to be prolific in their patenting and creative output.
NEC Corporation is one such example. NEC holds about 70,000 patents in Japan and overseas in a diverse fields ranging from broadband and mobile internet solutions to computers, communications electronic devices and software.
We are therefore excited that NEC has decided to use SurfIP as the marketing platform for its huge IP portfolio. Later this morning, IPOS will sign an MOU with NEC to seal this. IPOS has created the portal, SurfIP, to support the whole spectrum of IP activities from creation to exploitation. I encourage all of you to try it.
The NEC-Surf IP partnership is an illustration of how the world is moving towards business propositions which are built on knowledge-based assets, and distribution channels which no longer have geographical confines. It is a global trend which we cannot ignore, and Singapore is no different. Whether or not you live in Singapore, or are visiting, you would no doubt have read the newspaper reports these past few days, about the directions Singapore is taking as a country and as an economy. You would also have read about the collective soul searching that has taken place under the ambit of the Economic Review Committee (ERC).
A recurring theme in the ERC recommendations has been the importance of finding new impetus for growth, especially in sectors which are knowledge-based and innovation-driven. This includes enhancing our efforts in creating new products and businesses, and developing new areas like healthcare, education and creative industries, in order to service the region.
Intellectual Property (IP) will feature prominently in these areas. After all, innovation and IP go hand in hand. Innovative products and services give businesses competitive advantage, while IP provides protection over their business space and gives them bargaining power.
That is probably why IP is everywhere in the news. New forms of IP are constantly being created - gene sequences, internet business models and even software are now patentable. We hear success stories of how leading companies make billions that go straight to the bottom line, through licensing royalty income from their IP portfolio.
You and I also know that IP is not confined to areas such as engineering and information technology. It extends to "everyday" things. Everyday, we pay premiums for brands that have earned our loyalty. We drink "Starbucks" designer coffee. We buy (or aspire to buy), Gucci and Prada because of the prestige element. We see the money rolling in for franchises like Survivor, The Weakest Link, the Harry Potter series etc.
On the flip side, high profile court cases, for example those involving Kodak, Microsoft and Napster demonstrate the high stakes in prosecuting and defending IP.
What can we learn from these developments? One thing is for sure - ideas, inventions and brands or IP have become more valuable than traditional assets such as infrastructure, buildings and machines. Business is now about IP.
I run the risk of preaching to the converted. After all, you are all here, because you understand the importance of IP, and want to learn more about IP. Let me put some flesh to the bones, to explain what it has really meant for Singapore.
For many years now, IPOS has been taking on the role of promoting IP awareness, education and business. The level of activity increased tremendously over the last few years, when we accorded even greater strategic importance to IP, and along with that converted IPOS into a statutory board. IPOS has since been rolling out very useful facilities and programmes with those ends in mind. For example, the building of SurfIP, helping to set up the IP Academy and the holding of international conferences such as OPTIMAL 2003.
Going forward, we want to strengthen our infrastructure even more. There are a few areas which we need to continue to work on. We need more innovative businesses schooled in the art of IP management and IP exploitation. Supporting them must be a suite of IP supporting services that facilitate technology transfer and deal making - from patent engineers, technology brokers to lawyers, patent agents, valuers and so on. Last but not least, to make sure the two parties talk to each other, we need linkages and networks that facilitate interaction between buyers and sellers of IP, and the intermediaries that help them seal the deals.
IPOS has stepped up efforts to do just this. I am pleased today to announce three new initiatives from IPOS.
Firstly, IPOS has good news for businesses looking at training in-house capabilities in IP management and for individuals looking for a career switch. Working together with the Ministry of Manpower, IPOS has developed the Strategic Manpower Conversion Programme (Intellectual Property), or SMCP (IP) for short, to provide funding support for individuals and company-supported employees interested in switching to a career in the IP industry. With the SMCP (IP), IPOS hopes to -
- Increase the pool of IP professionals which companies can draw upon, through retraining and conversion;
- Incentivise local companies to develop more IP capabilities and manpower; and
- Provide an alternative career path for professionals and executives in a growth sector. Through this programme, companies and individuals will be able to acquire new expertise in core IP skills and capabilities that would put them in a better position to optimise their IP.
More information on the SMCP (IP) will be forthcoming in the next few days.
Secondly, to address the need for more networks which facilitate interaction between buyers and sellers of IP, IPOS is launching a new roving networking platform called IP Parade. This serves as a marketplace for trading of IP between IP owners, service providers and investors. Based on a simple '60 second to success' concept, at IP Parade, IP owners are invited to pitch the direct benefits of their IP to a pool of investors. Thereafter, the IP will be listed on SurfIP for sustained market exposure. IP Parade will be customised for different industry sectors and move around to various locations in Singapore. The offline networking sessions, complemented by online exposure with SurfIP's extensive and global reach gives IP owners a higher chance of finding the right partner to take their business forward.
The very first IP Parade will be held right here at OPTIMAL 2003. IP Parade@Optimal is co-organised by IPOS and EDB and will bring together more than 200 investors and 120 IP owners looking for deals.
IPOS is always on the look out for new and innovative ideas to raise awareness about IP. Indeed, IP is a complicated subject matter that is not easily explained or understood. In order for an IP savvy culture to take root, we need a sufficiently impactful programme would capture the imagination and appeal to just about everyone. IPOS thinks they have found such a programme.
Riding on the popularity of reality-based TV programmes, IPOS is creating a new reality-based TV series in partnership with Essence Holdings. This is the third initiative I am pleased to announce today. The reality-based TV series is called "Brainwave" and it will showcase ordinary people learning and practising IP concepts and strategies, and in the process experiencing first-hand the "Idea to Commercialisation" process. They will learn how to create, take risks, experiment, proto-type new offerings and then to protect, value and commercialise their creation.
I am told four teams of contestants have already been selected to take part - two from Singapore Polytechnic and one each from Ngee Ann Polytechnic and Temasek Polytechnic. In fact, the organisers tell me that these contestants will be going through their first trial tomorrow, right here on stage, at 4pm. Do come and catch them if you can.
From the sounds of it, Brainwave promises to be a fun and interactive way to educate the public on the importance of IP in business and in everyday life. Kudos to IPOS and Essence for spearheading this. Who knows, if Brainwave and the campaign garners a following, we could be talking about a franchise success like Survivor or The Weakest Link!
Ladies and gentlemen, the world of IP presents us with unlimited opportunities, and there are so many ways we can work together. This conference has brought together people from many countries, and expanded the possibilities of partnership so much more. It is going to be a very exciting two and a half days for everyone at OPTIMAL 2003. I want to congratulate JPO, IPOS and HQ Link for the vision and effort in bringing about this important event. I would like to acknowledge the generous support rendered by both our international and local partners in making this event a success. It leaves me now to urge all of you to make OPTIMAL use of the opportunities at OPTIMAL 2003. You will definitely be richer for it.
Thank you.