Opening Address at the Opening Ceremony of the Global Forum in Intellectual Property at IP Week 2025

Mr Daren Tang, Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organization,

Honourable Minister Mr Siromi Dokonivalu Turaga, Minister for Justice and Acting Attorney General of Fiji,

Honourable Minister Mr Norbert Mao, Minister for Justice and Constitutional Affairs of Uganda,

Mr Nicky Tan, Chairman of the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore,

Your Excellencies,

Distinguished Guests,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Introduction

1 Good morning. A very warm welcome to the Global Forum on Intellectual Property.

2 This year’s theme for IP Week @ SG, “Ideas to Assets: Innovating in Times of Change” is timely. They say, “change is the only constant”. In fact, change is not constant but accelerating. Today, it feels like it is happening faster than ever. In the spirit of today’s event, I must confess that I did not come up with that. I first heard it from Mr Wee Ee Cheong, who is one of Singapore’s top bankers.

3 In this fast-changing world, Intangible Assets (IA) and Intellectual Property (IP) are at the heart of how we create value and grow. 90% of the market value of S&P 500 companies now comes from intangibles – highlighting that ideas, brands, data, and know-how drive growth more than physical infrastructure.

4 At the same time, emerging technologies, especially Artificial Intelligence, are reshaping industries rapidly. With trade and geopolitics becoming more complex, businesses value certainty, and are going where they can trust their ideas to be protected.

5 Building a strong IA and IP ecosystem matters. It is not only about lawyers, patents, or rights. It is about fairly rewarding innovation and giving people and businesses the confidence to take risks, collaborate, and grow even in these uncertain times.

Strengthening Singapore’s IA and IP ecosystem

6 Singapore must continue to be the trusted place for innovation to thrive. That is why we continue to invest in helping our businesses translate IA and IP into real economic value.

7 The Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS) has been instrumental in fostering a vibrant and innovative IA and IP ecosystem here.

8 In the 2024 Global Innovation Index, Singapore was ranked 4th worldwide, up from 8^th in 2020. We remain 1st in the South-east Asia, East Asia, and Oceania region.

9 Four years ago, we launched the Singapore IP Strategy 2030, or SIPS 2030 – our national blueprint to strengthen the IA/IP regime, enable enterprises to more effectively use their IA/IP and create good job opportunities for Singaporeans. Since then, SIPS 2030 has made significant strides supporting enterprises of all stages of development.

10 GoBusiness IP Grow was launched in September 2023 as an online platform to improve accessibility to IP advice and support to help businesses grow. I am heartened that the platform has gone from strength to strength. To date, it has facilitated over 4,500 requests to connect with listed service providers, more than double the tally from a year ago.

11 I want to thank everyone who has supported the implementation and adoption of SIPS initiatives. Later, we will present the SIPS Appreciation Award to recognise those who have gone the extra mile.

Helping businesses unlock new growth areas through their IA and IP

12 We are deepening our understanding of how IP drives growth. This year, IPOS and the Singapore Exchange (SGX) studied over 570 listed firms, and found that companies that filed more IP rights tended to see higher stock prices.

     i. One company – the Thomson Medical Group, saw its market cap surge 334% in 2013 and 250% in 2018, with both instances coinciding with its filing of patents and trademarks.

     ii. In the Green Economy Space, Alpha Ladder Group holds a portfolio of patents that anchor its Digital Green Infrastructure.

13 We hope that these patents can provide the foundation for scalable, regulated, and sustainable financial and carbon markets, bridging climate impact with institutional grade finance.

14 To support enterprises in using IP for growth, IPOS will continue to build up 3 “C”s – capabilities, community and collaborations.

15 First, on capabilities. IPOS has piloted the Foundational INtangibles Disclosure programme, or FIND, in partnership with SGX, the World Intellectual Property Organisation, WIPO Singapore Office and the Stock Exchange of Thailand.

     i. The programme will guide businesses in preparing their own IA disclosures reports, boosting transparency and market valuation.

     ii. For example, Nanofilm Technologies International Limited, a nanotechnology solutions provider headquartered in Singapore, is the first to “FIND” its way and has successfully completed its report using Singapore’s Intangibles Disclosures Framework.

     iii. Their journey is featured at the IP Marketplace happening here at IP Week.

16 Tomorrow, IPOS will sign a Memorandum of Understanding with the Franchising and Licensing Association of Singapore, or FLA. Through this partnership, enterprises can access practical IP guidance sessions that will equip them with IP protection and commercialisation know-how. It will also allow businesses to leverage FLA’s franchising and licensing networks to scale across borders.

17 IPOS has also partnered SkillsFuture Singapore to identify critical gaps in IA/IP skills, such as IP licensing, to build a future-ready IP workforce for enterprises.

18 The second “C”, community, has also been at the heart of innovation. To this end, we want to encourage enterprises, especially IP-savvy “champions”, to share best practices on strengthening IP management with each other. We have started a new platform, the Enterprise IP Community, to facilitate peer learning and mentorship.

19 We are also proud to partner WIPO in launching a Regional IP Business Dialogue for SMEs this IP Week. The dialogue will bring together Heads of IP Offices in the region to share best practices and support SMEs to leverage IP for growth.

Supporting businesses through Singapore’s international networks

20 The third “C”, collaborations, is especially critical to our efforts in supporting businesses based out of Singapore to protect and commercialise their IP internationally.

21 This is an important year. It marks 30 years since Singapore became party to key IP treaties such as the Paris Convention and the Patent Cooperation Treaty, among others. Such treaties provide a predictable and efficient way for businesses to register, protect and commercialise their IP across different countries.

22 This year also marks 10 years since IPOS became an International Authority for Search and Examination. There are only 24 such Authorities globally, a testament to IPOS’s ability to provide efficient, high-quality patent searches and examinations. This has allowed Singapore to play an outsized role in international IP protection, and help businesses worldwide enter international markets with greater confidence.

23 As part of IP Week celebrations, IPOS has also concluded bilateral agreements to deepen IP cooperation with China and the UK, and will sign a Declaration of Intent with Switzerland later today.

24 Closer to home, improving access to IP information and services within ASEAN is a key priority for Singapore, to support businesses looking to expand to the region.

25 The ASEAN Patent Examination Co-operation, or ASPEC, has benefitted more than 400 applicants from over 30 countries, by facilitating the acceleration of 1,800 patent applications in the region.

26 As Chair of the ASEAN Patents Task Force, Singapore is pleased to announce that ASPEC will be expanded through the permanent inclusion of Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) reports. From 2026, ASEAN Member States will also work towards issuing more closely harmonised reports. These enhancements will make it easier for businesses to obtain patents in ASEAN.

27 Finally, a strong IA and IP ecosystem also requires access to dispute resolution services, in case partnerships go south. Singapore’s national service providers such as the Singapore International Arbitration Centre already serve parties worldwide. For ASEAN, IPOS has partnered WIPO to offer the WIPO-ASEAN Mediation Programme. By funding the mediation of IP or technology disputes, the programme and its earlier pilot have helped the ASEAN parties involved avoid costly litigation.

Conclusion

28 In conclusion, change is unrelenting, but innovation gives us a way to ride its wave.

29 Singapore is committed to being your partner in this journey. We will continue to strengthen our IA/IP ecosystem, support commercialisation and build global networks. Together, we can turn ideas into assets, and assets into growth.

30 I wish everyone a fruitful Forum ahead. Thank you.