Opening Remarks By A/P Ho Peng Kee at the Real Hunt at Wisma Atria, Singapore

Opening Remarks by Associate Professor Ho Peng Kee, Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Law & Ministry of Home Affairs at the Rear Hunt held on 23 April 2005 at Wisma Atria, Singapore

Ms Liew Woon Yin,
Director-General,
IPOS

Ms Rowena Paguio,
Head
WIPO Singapore Office

Members of the HIP Alliance

Distinguished guests

Ladies and gentlemen

A very good afternoon to everyone.
I’m happy to join you today to launch this year’s HIP campaign. I have supported this initiative by IPOS and the HIP Alliance for three years now. Over this time, I am glad that its key messages to all of us to “Live for REAL” and to “Say NO! to Piracy” are taking root. More Singaporeans are showing that they are ready to embrace a lifestyle of respect for intellectual property. Take HIP-Friends, the peer ambassadorship programme, for example. It now has some 6,000 members, who have taken a stand against piracy. The HIP Alliance, too, has grown and now has 21 member organisations, representing different sectors of our creative industries.
From where I am, I can’t help but notice how pervasive IP is. In fact, one doesn’t need to look far. From the clothes we wear to the mobile devices we use, the coffee we drink to the movies we watch, the many brands we have come to take for granted in our daily lives. They are all powered by IP.
IP supports the lifestyle we have grown accustomed to. It inspires creativity, promotes diversity, and encourages innovation. In short, IP has provided us with a better quality of life.
IP also protects the livelihood of those whose work or ideas have helped enrich our lives. In recent years, we have seen many talented young Singaporeans make their mark here and overseas.
Take fashion designers like Adrian Huang, Song Wykidd and Desmond Yang, for example. Not only do they attract a loyal following here, but their creations are now found in countries outside Singapore. Very recently, we also saw waves being made in the toy industry by our very own local toy designers - Play Imaginative, a five-month-old company which introduced the Trexi toys. The toys are so well-received that they have even caught the attention of drinks giant, Coca-Cola, which has asked Trexi’s creators to produce a special version to market soft drinks worldwide.
Our local singers are also holding their own. Stephanie Sun, Tanya Chua, JJ (Lin Jun Jie), Sheik Haikel and not forgetting our very own Singapore Idol Taufik. Likewise, our filmmakers are also beginning to make an impact overseas with Jack Neo leading the charge. We are happy that Eric Khoo’s latest film “Be With Me” has made headway at the Cannes International Film Festival.
Copyright protects the creative works of our artists, filmmakers, singers, authors and designers. It is important that we respect our local budding creative industries by supporting our creative entrepreneurs. If we don’t respect IP, then the opportunities to exploit their talent would be severely compromised.
Today’s REAL Hunt therefore hopes to drive home the point that IP is integral to our everyday lives and that we all can be proud and successful IP owners ourselves. This event is one of several organised by IPOS to celebrate World IP Day which falls on April 26th. I hope that all the participants this afternoon will have a very fun learning journey as you discover that IP is everywhere. Last but not least for all of you present today at Wisma Atria, make sure you go find some valuable IP to take home as well!
And on that note, let the REAL Hunt begin!