BIP Asia Forum Fosters Innovation, R&D Commercialisation

21 November 2018 - The eighth edition of the Business of IP Asia Forum (BIP Asia Forum), jointly organised by the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) and the Hong Kong Design Centre, will be held on 6-7 Dec at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. This year’s forum features internationally acclaimed speakers from technology giants, including Virgin Hyperloop One, Amazon Web Services, Ant Financial, SenseTime and many others.

The IPHatch Hong Kong Launch will take place on the first day of the 2018 forum. Co-organised by the HKTDC and Piece Future, IPHatch Hong Kong is a competition aiming to encourage start-ups to identify and convert valuable intellectual property (IP) into assets, and to come up with new ideas that bring existing patents to market. It will offer 10 IP portfolios from supporting universities, research institutes and multinationals such as Panasonic Corporation. The patents cover various sectors including smart city, advanced manufacturing, Internet of Things (IoT), healthcare and wellness, and property technology.

The winners of the competition will be entitled to access these IP portfolios, to receive free mentorship on business planning and to participate in incubation and networking activities, connecting them with potential partners and investors. Panasonic Corporation Chief Intellectual Property Specialist Yoshinori Nakagawa and Nokia Technologies Head of Asia IP Regulatory Jari Vaario will share on their technologies at the IPHatch Hong Kong Launch.  Winners from last year’s IPHatch Singapore will be on hand to share their experience in incorporating technology portfolios.

Another highlight on the same day is a breakout session titled “IP Entrepreneurship: The Journey from Start to Growth”, at which experts will discuss how start-ups can move their businesses to greater heights by incorporating IPs. Speakers include George Lam, Chairman of Hong Kong Cyberport Management Company Limited; Devin Ehrig, co-founder of local start-up Shadow Factory; and Michael Lin, Council Member of the Hong Kong Sub-Chapter of the Licensing Executives Society China and Board Member of the International IP Commercialization Council.

Robust Growth in IP Trading across Asia
Raymond Yip, Deputy Executive Director of the HKTDC, said: “IP trading is a bridge that connects research institutions, manufacturers and businesses, promoting the commercialisation of R&D [research and development] results and any subsequent technology transfer.” He added that emerging countries in the Asia-Pacific region are showing a growing interest in developing innovation-driven, knowledge-based economies, which provides a stimulus to IP trading in the region.

Innovators around the world filed about 3 million patent applications in 2016, with Mainland China accounting for more than 40% of that figure. Compared with 2015, there were 240,000 more global patent applications in 2016, with 98% of the growth contributed by the mainland. “We expect to see more patent applications in the mainland in the future, with Hong Kong acting as a facilitator by offering a range of IP supporting services, including IP portfolio management, technology transfer, promotion design and legal arbitration,” said Mr Yip. He added that China’s 13^th Five-Year Plan is one of the reasons behind the robust growth in the mainland’s IP industry, as the plan underlines three indexes to strengthen comprehensive management of IP rights. According to the plan, by 2020 Mainland China targets to more than double its number of patents, financial capital and exports compared to five years earlier.

Citing the Policy Address given by the Chief Executive of the HKSAR in October this year, Mr Yip said the government will strive to improve Hong Kong's IP system through initiatives such as the establishment of an Original Grant Patent System. “These initiatives boost Hong Kong’s position as an innovation and technology hub in the region,” Mr Yip said, adding that the HKTDC has signed cooperation agreements with Australia, Italy and the Czech Republic this year, taking the total number of strategic partners in the Asia IP Exchange to 38. The exchange now features more than 28,000 tradable IP listings, ranging from patents and trademarks to copyrights and registered designs, in areas such as biotechnology, medicine, electronics, engineering, film and publications, strengthening the links between global IP owners, intermediary service providers and manufacturers.

Development of IP Rights in Mainland China
Apart from the informative plenary sessions, keynote luncheon and Global Tech Summit, the forum also offers various breakout sessions. One of these is co-organised with the Department of Justice of the HKSAR to introduce local intellectual property law. It features a strong lineup of speakers, including Teresa Cheng, Secretary for Justice, HKSAR and Zhao Meisheng, Deputy Director-General, Intellectual Property Utilization Promotion Department, China National Intellectual Property Administration of the People’s Republic of China (CNIPA). Among other speakers from Hong Kong are Andrew Liao, Senior Counsel; Winnie Tam, Senior Counsel, International Arbitrator and Mediator, and Chairman of the Communications Authority of the HKSAR; and Charmaine Koo, Chairman and Council Member of the Hong Kong Sub-Chapter of the Licensing Executives Society China.

Joining a session co-organised with China Daily, titled “Era of IP Convergence: Maximising Benefits of Cross-media Collaboration”, on 6 Dec are Hendrick Sin, co-founder and Vice Chairman of CMGE Technology Group Limited; Sophie Xie, Chief Executive Officer and Director of Shanda Games Limited; Leon Ding, Executive President of Fantawild Holdings Inc and President of Fantawild Animation Inc; Leon Gao, President & Founder, EntGroup; Leo Huang, General Manager, Creative Power Entertaining Co Ltd and Creator of “Pleasant Goat” and “Big Big Wolf & Happy Heroes”, Xie Guangcai, Executive Vice President, ChineseAll Digital Publishing Group and Xu Han,

Creator of “Ali the Fox” and founder, Board Chairman and CEO of Dream Castle. They will discuss business opportunities arising from cross-media deployment such as novels, anime, films, TV dramas and mobile games. The mainland market generated revenue of Rmb70 billion from such mobile game conversions in 2017, highlighting the strong potential in the IP market.

A session co-organised with the International Trademark Association on 7 Dec, titled “Secure the Trust of Your Brands along the Belt and Road”, will feature officials from Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Laos and Hong Kong discussing how businesses can protect their brands. An IP Manager Training Programme will be offered at the forum on the same day. Co-organised with the Intellectual Property Department of the HKSAR, the programme aims to equip participants with the basics of IP such as the management and development of IP trade, copyrights, patents and trademarks, as well as IP registration and application procedures.

Highlighted guests at the BIP Asia forum include:

Programme rundown: http://www.hktdc.com/ncs/bip2018/tc/s/info-Programme.html
Speakers: http://www.hktdc.com/ncs/bip2018/tc/s/info-Speakers.html

Media Enquiries
Please contact the HKTDC's Communication and Public Affairs Department:

Angel Tang                 Tel: (852) 2584 4544                  Email: angel.hc.tang@hktdc.org
Beatrice Lam                Tel: (852) 2584 4049      　        Email: beatrice.hy.lam@hktdc.org

About the HKTDC
Established in 1966, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) is a statutory body dedicated to creating opportunities for Hong Kong's businesses. With 50 offices globally, including 13 in Mainland China, the HKTDC promotes Hong Kong as a platform for doing business with the mainland, Asia and the world. With more than 50 years of experience, the HKTDC organises international exhibitions, conferences and business missions to provide companies, particularly SMEs, with business opportunities in the mainland and international markets, while providing business insights and information via trade publications, research reports and digital channels including the media room. For more information, please visit: www.hktdc.com/aboutus.