Mr Stephen Selby,
APEC IPEG Chair
Distinguished speakers,
IPEG delegates,
Ladies and gentlemen
Good morning everyone.
1. First of all, a very warm welcome to all of you to Singapore and to this Seminar organized in conjunction with the 28th APEC-IPEG Meeting.
2. As the APEC host economy for 2009, we aim to make this year’s IPEG meetings productive and fruitful for delegates. Many of the delegates present here today have traveled long distances to attend the 28th APEC IPEG meeting. For this reason and in line with the tradition of organizing a back-to-back capacity building activity with IPEG meetings, we have put together this seminar titled “From Mind to Market: The Highs and Lows of Technology Transfer”.
3. The issue of IPRs and technology transfer is relevant to all economies and has often been debated in many fora. However, it is a subject that covers many facets of intellectual property, tied in with aspects of national policy, and business processes, and is therefore not always easily understood. Besides creating the enabling environment through national legislation, policy framework and institutional measures, technology acquisition and its sustainable transfer is similarly contingent on effective business know-how and savvy commercialization strategies.
4. SMEs, being the backbone of many APEC economies, will be a key focus of this seminar. SMEs face many challenges arising from their small size and resource constraints. Yet SMEs are crucial to many economies owing to their important role as job and wealth creators. Therefore it is important that governments design effective policies to enable SMEs to acquire, develop and maximize IP contributions to their business viability and continued competitiveness.
5. While this seminar also dwells on model approaches for policy makers, national experiences of selected economies as well as regional and international technology transfer trends and developments, the objective is not to develop a “one-size-fits-all” solution. It would not be realistic given the diversities and unique characteristics of individual economies. Rather, as IP policy makers, we need to consider the many issues and questions surrounding the subject of IPRs and technology transfer, and develop an effective framework that works for our respective economies. Therefore, I hope that from this event, you will be able to gather some useful takeaways that can help you in your work when you return home.
6. Before I conclude, I would like to specially thank the US Patent and Trademark Office in partnering IPOS in this collaborative effort, and to the World Intellectual Property Organization, IP Australia and the Department Intellectual Property, Ministry of Commerce, Thailand, for supporting the event. Our thanks also to Mr Stephen Selby, Chair of the APEC Experts Group, for his valuable comments and inputs in the development of the seminar programme. I’ll also like to thank our speakers, who have found the time out of their busy schedules to share their insights and knowledge with us today.
7. While everyone here today will be preoccupied with the seminar discussions and the visit to the Singapore Institute of Manufacturing Technology tomorrow, I’d like to encourage you to also take some time to also explore our beautiful city. I hope that you will discover more about Singapore during this trip as much as you would have on IPRs and technology transfer at this seminar.
8. I am also very pleased to mention that IPOS will be organizing Trading Ideas in July 2009, in partnership with the various IP offices, business leaders and professionals from the APEC economies as well as government officials responsible for promoting business innovation and growth. Trading Ideas will further promote IP thought leadership through an interactive and engaging platform for the exchange of ideas in IP commercialization for businesses in the APEC region. IPOS looks forward to hosting you again in July 2009.
9. On this note, I wish everyone a fruitful day of seminar discussions and networking in the days ahead.
10. Thank you very much.