SMS Assoc Prof Ho Peng Kee’s Opening Address for the 4th China-Singapore Intellectual Property Conference

25 Aug 2010 Posted in Speeches

Commissioner, State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO), Mr Tian Li Pu
Commissioner, Shanghai Intellectual Property Administration (SIPA) Mr Lu Guo Qiang
Distinguished Guests
Ladies and Gentlemen

1. A very good morning.

2. It is my pleasure to be here today. On behalf of my delegation from Singapore, I would like to thank our Chinese hosts, the State Intellectual Property Office of the People’s Republic of China, and the Shanghai Intellectual Property Administration, for organising this event and for their hospitality.

3. This is the 4th Conference in the series. Starting from 2006, we had organised 3 previous conferences: 2 in Singapore and 1 in Beijing. To date, almost 500 participants have attended these Conferences. To reach out to more people, the organisers have decided to hold this year’s conference in Shanghai. I am happy to meet all of you today.

4. Since establishing diplomatic ties in 1990, China and Singapore’s bilateral relationship has grown from strength to strength. A key anchor of our bilateral relationship is our robust economic ties, including our strong trade and investment links.

5. A strong intellectual property regime is needed for countries to promote industrialisation and innovation. In addition, intellectual property is an important component in promoting trade and investments between countries. Both countries have recognised the importance of cooperation in the field of intellectual property. In 2004, the State Intellectual Property Office of the People’s Republic of China and the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Intellectual Property Cooperation.

6. However, each country’s intellectual property regime is different. So how can people and companies effectively implement their intellectual property strategies across different countries?

7. This question will be the main theme for today’s conference. In particular, a key focus is on how Chinese companies can navigate the Singapore intellectual property system and design appropriate intellectual property strategies to advance their business interests?

8. I am happy to share that 16 lawyers and IP practitioners from Singapore have come to Shanghai today to share their experience and insights with our friends from China. I am sure their insights will be valuable to all of us.

9. Ladies and gentlemen, despite the current challenging global conditions, China’s economy continues to grow at record levels. According to news reports last week, China has overtaken Japan to to become the world’s second-largest economy based on nominal GDP rates.

10. Beyond GDP growth, China is also embarking on a restructuring of its economy and pursuing new growth strategies. For example, China is developing new industries like environmental technology, biotechnology, infocommunications, and material sciences, just to name a few.

11. The commonality between these new industries is that they are knowledge-based industries. Output is no longer simply measured in terms of units of production, but more in terms of the number of ideas and the depth of innovation. To protect such innovation, a strong intellectual property regime is important.

12. As China continues its economic evolution, its intellectual property landscape has also grown in tandem. Consider China’s patent system. After China implemented its Patent Law in 1985, it took 15 years to accumulate the first million patent applications. By comparison, SIPO almost received the same amount of patent applications (976,686) in 2009 alone.

13. China’s remarkable progress within this period has allowed it to surpass most other countries. Today, China is among the top 5 countries in the world in terms of the number of patent applications filed.

14. Another key trend is the globalisation of Chinese companies. As these companies venture into overseas markets, they are also adapting to international intellectual property regimes along the way. In 2009, China filed over 7,900 international patent applications through the Patent Cooperation Treaty under the World Intellectual Property Organization. This is more than triple its applications in 2005.

15. Leading this international charge is a troop of Chinese companies with a strong suite of intellectual property rights and well known brands. For example, Huawei Technologies has been ranked by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) as the 2nd highest international patent filing company in the world in 2009, with over 1,800 patents filed.

16. Singapore, with our strong intellectual property laws, business-friendly policies and extensive connectivity to the world, has been a natural destination for Chinese companies looking to internationalise.

17. Today, there are over 3,000 Chinese companies in Singapore including well-known ones like Huawei, Cosco, and Hai’er. Many of these companies are tapping Singapore’s extensive linkages to the Asia-Pacific market to set up their regional marketing and trading operations.

18. We are also seeing Chinese high-tech start-ups set up their operations in Singapore to undertake research and development in sectors such as Information Technology, solar energy, biotechnology and pharmaceuticals.

19. Singapore started to modernise its intellectual property regime about 15 years ago. I have had the privilege of helping to drive this and have moved about 11 pieces of legislation in parliament during this time. In this way, we have progressively finetuned and adapted our intellectual property laws in key areas such as copyrights, patents and trademarks to suit modern market conditions. Singapore’s IP Academy and the WIPO’s office located in Singapore have also provided thought leadership in key intellectual property areas.

20. In addition, we have worked with WIPO to establish the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Centre in Singapore earlier this year. This is the first Centre established in the Asia Pacific region, and it will offer dispute resolution services for international commercial disputes. Such alternative dispute resolution will be especially relevant to complex, cross-border intellectual property-related disputes.

21. As Chinese businesses such as yours venture into new countries, one consideration you have to make is how to tailor your existing intellectual property strategies to adapt to each country’s regime. A suitable and strong intellectual property strategy will help your companies protect its unique products and services, and even create new business opportunities.

22. That is why the organisers of today’s conference have added a business matching cum helpdesk session for participants. This half-day session, which will be held tomorrow, will allow you to meet with the speakers to understand more about how to do business in Singapore, and also to explore opportunities for partnership.

23. In closing, I like to extend my appreciation to Commissioner Tian for making the trip from Beijing for this Conference. I also thank Director-General Lu and the SIPO and SIPA officials for their kind hospitality in hosting this conference.

24. I am confident that this Conference will facilitate an active exchange of views and ideas. All of us can benefit from learning from each others’ expertise and experiences.

25. With that, I wish all of you a productive set of meetings and discussions ahead. Thank you.

Last updated on 25 Nov 2012