12th Business of IP Asia Forum opened today

1 December 2022 – Jointly organised by the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) and Hong Kong Design Centre, the 12^th Business of IP Asia Forum kicked off today. The first day took place in person at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC) with livestreaming available, while the second day will be entirely virtual. Themed “Creating New Value, Discovering New Frontiers”, the two-day forum brings together more than 70 global intellectual property (IP) experts and business leaders to discuss the latest trends and opportunities in the Asian IP market.

John Lee, Chief Executive of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region spoke at the forum’s opening ceremony this morning, along with Margaret Fong, Executive Director of the HKTDC; Shen Changyu, Commissioner at the China National Intellectual Property Administration; and Daren Tang, Director General of World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).

In her welcome, HKTDC Executive Director Margaret Fong remarked: “In the past 12 years, our Forum has become a leading platform for IP professionals and business leaders from around the world to exchange insights, make connections and explore opportunities. It also underpins Hong Kong’s status as a regional IP trading hub. With its strong IP protection regime, efficient IP commercialisation, deep and liquid capital market and sound judicial system, Hong Kong is uniquely placed to foster a vigorous IP ecosystem in the Greater Bay Area, the rest of Mainland China and Asia at large.”

Addressing participants at the opening session, John Lee said: “Our country's National 14^th Five-year Plan firmly supports Hong Kong's rise as a regional IP trading centre. It's one of the eight important sectors to drive our future development, and to lead the way in – for China and for the Asian region as a whole. To strengthen IP rights' protection, the Hong Kong SAR Government will work to implement the international trade mark registration system. We’ll also update our copyright regime to boost digital copyright protection.”

In his opening address, Shen Changyu, added: “The China National Intellectual Property Administration supports the development of the intellectual property business in Hong Kong and the whole Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA). We will help Hong Kong develop its patent system, streamlining patent examination, staff training and information-system development. Hong Kong is expected to rapidly develop into a regional intellectual-property trading centre. This will provide an optimised business environment for industry players, actively integrating the city into the nation’s development and contributing to a robust IP industry.”

Discussions on the first day began with the Policy, with welcome remarks delivered by Algernon Yau, JP, HKSAR Secretary of Commerce and Economic Development; IP experts Daren Tang, Director General of WIPO; Anthony Taubman, Director of the Intellectual Property Division at the World Trade Organization (WTO); Rowel S. Barba, Chairman of the Association of Southeast Nations (ASEAN) Working Group on Intellectual Property Cooperation; Kyo-sook Choi, Chair of Intellectual Property Rights Experts Group at Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC); and António Campinos, President of the European Patent Office exchanged views on how to  coordinate global efforts to build a sustainable IP ecosystem.

Daren Tang said: “Intangible assets will play a growing role in the economic growth of Mainland China, Hong Kong and the world. We anticipate that an increasing number of Hong Kong-listed companies will derive the majority of their value from intangible assets. In addition, intangible asset finance is rising on policy agendas as governments and businesses use intellectual property as a financial asset. As growth and trade in intangible assets surge around the world, creating new patterns of commerce and exchange, they will open up a wealth of opportunities for Hong Kong. The city and the Greater Bay Area are well-positioned to be key centres of an increasingly intangible asset-driven global economy.”

The sessions on the first day covered a myriad of IP-related topics. The plenary session shed light on the effective implementation of IP strategies for business expansion. Another session, the Global Tech Summit, focused on the industrial metaverse with leaders from various industries sharing their insights on the ways in which technology can propel reindustrialisation in Hong Kong. Meanwhile, other trending topics discussed included Patent Application Grant (PAG), dispute resolution mechanisms over domain names, precautions that need to be taken to protect online media IP, regulation frameworks and the metaverse ecosystem, and business collaboration efforts with Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs). Co-organised by the Guangdong Administration for Market Regulation (Guangdong Intellectual Property Administration), the GBA IP Development and Market Update session introduced new opportunities for technological innovation and IP in order to encourage more overseas enterprises to tap into the China market.

IPHatch Asia was hosted by Jason Loh, Founder and CEO of Piece Future. In his opening speech, Jason Loh analysed the role of IP and business networks in helping deep tech startups to jumpstart and scale up. He also shared the strategic reasons for hosting IPHatch Asia edition in Hong Kong, showing great confidence in the vibrant Hong Kong’s startup ecosystem. The session invited past winners to discuss the importance of IP in their business development, share their entrepreneurial journey and give tips for staying ahead of the industry competition.

HKTDC and The Chinese Manufacturers' Association of Hong Kong signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at the Forum, pledging deeper cooperation on technology commercialization.

Innovation & IP Market: Smart Manufacturing and Building

For the first time at the Forum, the HKTDC co-organised the Innovation & IP Market with the Hong Kong Productivity Council (HKPC) to enhance IP commercialisation and facilitate industry exchange. The event brought together universities, R&D centres, start-ups, IP users and service providers to network and explore collaboration opportunities. The Inno Showcase provided a platform for IP owners to display their innovations. At the Open Stage, IP owners promoted their latest innovations and research results, while business advice was offered at the Tech Consultation Salon.

Meanwhile, an action-packed agenda on day two will see legal representatives, industry leaders from the cultural and creative industries, and IP experts from Hong Kong and the GBA explore the opportunities in the GBA and the Qianhai Shenzhen-Hong Kong Modern Service Industry Cooperation Zone and share how IP can protect and promote cultural and creative arts development. In addition, participants can take part in a series of IP training courses co-organised by the HKTDC and HKSAR Intellectual Property Department, which will introduce basic concepts of various IP types. These training courses will be a learning opportunity for anyone seeking to understand how they can protect and manage their intellectual property in the digital age.

Also on the second day, the HKTDC, ASEAN Secretariat and HKSAR Intellectual Property Department will organise an online workshop on IP commercialisation in ASEAN. The workshop will bring together representatives from legal departments, research & development (R&D) institutions and enterprises from Hong Kong and ASEAN member states to share their collective experience in the financial and legal systems to facilitate IP commercialisation and technology transfer in a knowledge-based economy.

Business of IP Asia Forum website: https://bipasia.hktdc.com/en/

Photo download: https://bit.ly/3Vo1Z1t

Media enquiries

Please contact Hill+Knowlton Strategies:

Rachel Zhu                        Tel: (852) 6816 5846           Email: rachel.zhu@hkstrategies.com

Jade Sin                             Tel: (852) 5646 8944           Email: jade.sin@hkstrategies.com

HKTDC’s Communications & Public Affairs Department:

Clayton Lauw                     Tel: (852) 2584 4472           Email: clayton.y.lauw@hktdc.org

Janet Chan                         Tel: (852) 2584 4369           Email: janet.ch.chan@hktdc.org

Sunny Ng                            Tel: (852) 2584 4357           Email: sunny.sl.ng@hktdc.org

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About HKTDC

The Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) is a statutory body established in 1966 to promote, assist and develop Hong Kong's trade. With 50 offices globally, including 13 in Mainland China, the HKTDC promotes Hong Kong as a two-way global investment and business hub. The HKTDC organises international exhibitions, conferences and business missions to create business opportunities for companies, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), in the mainland and international markets. The HKTDC also provides up-to-date market insights and product information via trade publications, research reports and digital news channels. For more information, please visit: www.hktdc.com/aboutus. Follow us on Twitter @hktdc and LinkedIn