The IP Office of Singapore (IPOS) launched the Singapore Intellectual Property Strategy 2030 (SIPS 2030) on World Intellectual Property Day this year, based on Singapore’s 2013 IP Hub Master Plan (and 2017 updates). SIPS 2030 seeks to keep Singapore’s position as a top-ranked IP regime by ensuring that companies may protect, manage, and transfer their intangible assets and intellectual property (IA/IP) in a positive environment.
The Singapore IP Strategy 2030
SIPS 2030 has three intertwined thrusts: strengthening Singapore’s position as a worldwide center for IA/IP, attracting and growing innovative IA/IP-based companies, and developing excellent employment and important IA/IP skills. This article discusses several efforts that were announced during the recent IP Week SG 2021 and are meant to assist this strategy.
The World Trademark Review named IPOS the most innovative IP registry in the world in its 2020 survey. Enhancements to IPOS’s IPOS GO mobile application, which now provides substantial search functions, are among IPOS’s most recent innovations. IPOS will also launch a new online marketplace for IA/IP management and marketing services and expertise. IPOS’s IP Business and Legal Clinics are also projected to increase, allowing businesses to access and seek assistance from a larger pool of IP professionals.
The World Trademark Review named IPOS the most creative IP registry in the world in its 2020 survey. Enhancements to IPOS’s IPOS GO mobile application, which now provides substantial search functions, are among IPOS’s most recent innovations. IPOS will also launch a new online marketplace for IA/IP management and commercialization services and expertise. IPOS’s IP Business and Legal Clinics are also projected to increase, allowing businesses to access and ask for assistance from a broader base of IP professionals.
The development of a reliable and trustworthy IA valuation environment is another effort that businesses can look forward to. Recognizing the increasing importance of intellectual property (IP) in enterprises and the need to extract value from these assets, Singapore plans to lead the development of IA valuation practice standards and guidelines with the support of a worldwide panel of IA valuation experts. The development of consistent, reliable, and internationally accepted standards will make it easier for owners of IA/IP to monetize and leverage these assets for development, including capital raising.
Singapore’s position as an IP center will require ongoing international and regional cooperation. The Patent Prosecution Highway pilot program with China’s National Intellectual Property Administration has been extended for another five years, according to IPOS. Applicants will be able to get expedited patent applications by relying on examination findings established by either IP office, regardless of whether the patent was submitted with IPOS or CNIPA initially. A virtual ASEAN IP Academy has been established inside the ASEAN Working Group on IP Cooperation to develop IP knowledge in the area, in addition to the ASEAN Working Group on IP Cooperation’s ongoing work on improving the region’s IP framework.
With human potential as its most valuable resource, Singapore will invest in training programs like the SkillsFuture Study Award for IP, which provides training grants to help businesses increase IP capabilities and skills.
IPOS has also established a course on “Acting as a Witness in a Patent Dispute” and created a list of Singapore-based IP expert witnesses who could help in IP and technology-related court proceedings or arbitrations. There are presently 16 specialists on the list, representing a variety of industries. These measures help Singapore achieve its objective of being the preferred location for IP dispute resolution.
Singapore continues to create the foundation for IA/IP to become a significant engine of our city-economy state’s through SIPS 2030. The recent announcements should serve as a timely reminder for businesses to think about their own IA/IP strategy and prepare for the new difficulties that the post-pandemic world will bring.
*** The list of Singapore IP Firms can be found here*****