Global Forum on IP

Daren Tang
Chief Executive, Intellectual Property Office of Singapore

Indranee Rajah
Minister, Prime Minister’s Office
Second Minister for Finance and Second Minister for Education

Innovation and IP are increasingly intertwined in the future economy. IP offices and organisations have a crucial role in the new economy, and there is an imperative to evolve beyond being a mere administrator of Registries or Regulator to be an innovation agency that leverages on expertise and connections to help promote and develop innovative enterprises. This plenary examines how IP offices and organisations are key anchors of innovation, and looks into how they may use their expertise, including big data and analytics, to enrich R&D decisions, grow enterprises through IP and support economic growth.

Moderator

• Yvonne Chan, Presenter, Channel NewsAsia

Speakers

• Andrei Iancu, Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director, United States Patent and Trademark Office
• Dr. Shen Changyu, Commissioner, National Intellectual Property Administration of the People’s Republic of China (CNIPA)
• Daren Tang, Chief Executive, Intellectual Property Office of Singapore
• David Lossignol, President-Elect, International Trademark Association
• Dr. Freddy Harris, Director General, DGIP and Chair of AWGIPC
• Naoko Munakata, Commissioner, Japan Patent Office

The value of companies is increasingly found in intangible assets, including technology, data and branding. Today, more than 80 percent of the value of S&P500 companies are in intangible assets, an inversion in focus when compared to 1975, where less than 20 percent were intangibles. This phenomenal growth in intangible valuation is also taking place in Asia. Between 2012 and 2016, the intangible assets value of companies in Indonesia, China and India has more than doubled. The capacity to innovate through harnessing and commercialising intangible assets is now key for the survival and success of any enterprise. This plenary discusses the advent of intangibles, and its implications for Asia’s most innovative companies.

Moderator

• Juliette Saly, Anchor and Reporter, Bloomberg Radio and Television

Speakers

• Chatri Sityodtong, Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, ONE Championship
• Lynn Fu, Director of Brand Protection Cooperation, Platform Governance Department, Alibaba Group
• Martin Hartono, Chief Executive Officer, GDP Venture
• Dr. Raymond Chen Pei, Director of Intellectual Property, Didi Chuxing

Blockchain Technology: Securing Your IP Space

The recent surge in prices of cryptocurrencies has brought greater attention to Blockchain technology. Banks and other institutional players are now looking at this technology as a means to transact more efficiently. However, Blockchain technology is not limited to the finance industry. IP Offices are starting to look at Blockchain as a way to improve on how rights are managed. Nevertheless, adoption of this greenfield technology is not without its challenges. In the first half of 2017 alone, USPTO received more than 390 patent applications relating to this technology, a 90 percent increase from the same period a year ago. This panel draws out the complexity of IP issues surrounding Blockchain even as its adoption advances with ever increasing new applications.

Moderator

• Dr. Eliza Mik, Assistant Professor of Law, School of Law, Singapore Management University

Speakers

• Benjamin Mah, Program Director, TNB Ventures
• David Kappos, Partner, Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP
• Jack Ow, Vice President (Senior Counsel), Citibank N.A., Singapore Branch

Singapore Enterprises and Their Innovation Journey

The most innovative economies invest heavily into R&D to build brands and technologies having lasting global impact. The GII ranks Singapore top in terms of its innovation input as evidenced by the ongoing Research, Innovation and Enterprise (RIE) 2020 plan that commits $19 billion into our innovation ecosystem. For Singapore enterprises to stay ahead and seize new opportunities in both local and global markets, innovation is key. Join us as we examine the challenges Singapore enterprises face in an environment where creativity and innovation is in every player’s DNA, and find out what more could be done to foster an environment where collaboratively we may all achieve greater heights.

Moderator

• Leslie Loh, Managing Director, Red Dot Ventures

Speakers

• Douglas Foo, President, Singapore Manufacturing Federation
• Jeffrey Tiong, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, PatSnap
• Melvin Tan, Chief Executive Officer, Cyclect Group
• Neal Cross, Managing Director and Chief Innovation Officer, DBS Bank

A Proliferation of Choice in the Marketplace: Is Technology Hurting or Helping Copyright Monetisation?

The media consumer is confronted with a multitude of ways to access the digital copyright marketplace today. The “freemium” model allows listening or watching for free subject to the inclusion of commercials. Media aggregators deploy the subscription model for unlimited access to a work regardless of geographical location, or a transaction model for owning a digital copy. Pay a smaller fee and you get a time-limited download of the work. How does this sit with content owners who are heavily invested in traditional distribution methods? While the technology fuelling the proliferation of these consumption choices is arguably presenting increased monetisation from creatively licensing a single copyright work, is it the case that content owners and creators are seeing increased revenues – or only to a point? Is there an argument that a wide range of access platforms in the copyright marketplace is leading to confusion on the part of consumers exercising choice? Is the term “speed-to-market” of a copyright work with first-mover revenue advantage in mind relevant any longer? Our panel of distinguished speakers, drawn from the media industry, weigh in on these questions and provide their perspectives on the current state of the business of copyright.

Moderator

• Teo Yi-Ling, Senior Faculty & Principal Legal Counsel, IP Academy

Speakers

• Dr. Cedric Manara, Senior Copyright Counsel and Head of Copyright Team, Google
• Keemin Ngiam, Director of Legal, Netflix
• Yeo Kok Siew, Director, Distribution & Partnerships (Asia), beIN Asia Pacific
• Cheah Yew Kuin, Senior Counsel, Global Content Protection, 21st Century Fox

Financing an Intangible Asset-Driven Global Economy

Are our financial structure and instruments ready for a global economy that is increasingly powered by intangible assets? According to brands reports, global intangible value has more than doubled since 2001, and amounted close to $50 trillion in 2016. This growth is set to accelerate with countries around the world banking on innovation for economic growth. However, it is not certain (even with the new IFRS and IAS 38 standards) that the current approaches are adequately equipped to support an intangible asset-driven global economy. This panel looks into the latest developments and opportunities for financiers, valuers, insurers and providers of innovative business models, to ready the global financing/accounting structure for the future economy.

Moderator

• Tan Shau En, Assistant Chief Executive, Commercialisation, IPOS

Speakers

• Sir David Tweedie, Chairman of the Board of Trustees, International Valuation Standards Council
• Evan Law, Chief Executive, Singapore Accountancy Commission
• Malcolm Rodrigues, Chief Executive Officer, MyRepublic
• Chew Sutat, Executive Vice-President and Head of Equities and Fixed Income, Singapore Exchange Limited

5 SEP 2018 | Wednesday

As one of the world’s fastest-growing market, ASEAN’s middle-income consumers are expected to exceed half a billion people by 2030. Spurred on by the phenomenal growth and prospect of the ASEAN market, innovative companies in the region are doubling efforts to transform their ideas and IP into commercially successful products and services. IPOS-International’s 2018 technology foresighting report on the state of innovation in ASEAN reveals that the total number of inventions from the region saw an annual growth of 12.5% between 2008 and 2013. With the vision of the ASEAN Economic Community, the impetus is now greater than ever for the region’s most innovative markets like Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam to deepen connectivity in innovation and IP. This panel of ASEAN enterprises will shed light on the importance of fostering connectivity in innovation and IP to achieve exceptional business outcomes.

Moderator

• Audrey Yap, Managing Partner, Yusarn Audrey

Speakers

• Cholanat Yanaranop, Executive Vice President, The Siam Cement PCL (SCG), and President, SCG Chemicals
• Nina Yang, Chief Executive Officer, Sustainable Urban Development, Ascendas-Singbridge
• Dr. Robert Yap, Executive Chairman, YCH Group; ASEAN Business Advisory Council Chair

Judges Panel

Our panel of distinguished Judges will be discussing court cases which have impacted on the development of technology and offer insights from their jurisdictions to illustrate their relevance. This will be the first time we have a panel of 5 judges representing diverse judicial systems spanning across four continents, including the US and China.

Moderator

• Dr. Stanley Lai, SC, Chairman, IPOS Board of Directors / Partner and Head of IP Practice, Allen & Gledhill LLP

Speakers

• Justice Aedit Abdullah, Judge of the High Court, Supreme Court of Singapore
• Judge James V. Selna, Federal Judge for the United States District Court for the Central District of California
• Justice John Nicholas, Federal Court of Australia
• Judge Richard Hacon, Presiding Judge, Intellectual Property Enterprise Court
• Professor Kong Xiangjun, former Supreme People’s Court IPR Tribunal Chief Judge, Dean of IP/Law School, Shanghai Jiaotung University

The Future of Brands in the Age of Digitalisation

Is branding dead or revived in the era of digitalisation? The advent of e-consumers and proliferation of online marketing channels have flattened the playing field between established brands and their smaller competitors. Yet, the preponderance of Big Data is enabling more sophisticated and targeted branding activities. This panel will look into the branding challenges of a consumer market increasingly taking place in a non-physical world. The conversation will examine how corporations are evolving beyond trademarking to instil a larger IP and branding strategy to stay ahead of the (digitalisation) curve.

Moderator

• Ng Kok Wan, Assistant Chief Executive, Registries, IPOS

Speakers

• David Lossignol, President-Elect, International Trademark Association
• Dr. Hooi Den Huan, Associate Professor, Division of Marketing and International Business, Nanyang Business School, Nanyang Technological University
• Luke Lim, Chief Executive Officer, A.S. Louken
• Richard Koh, Chief Technology Officer, Microsoft Singapore

Mock Court : Inside the UK IP Enterprise Court

The UK IP Enterprise Court (“IPEC”) has seen notable success in providing an efficient and effective forum for IP litigation in the UK. Through a combination of innovative features such as active case management, caps on costs and damages, early identification of issues by the judge, time limits on trials and sanctions aimed at encouraging early settlement of disputes, the IPEC has enhanced access to justice for SMEs in IP disputes in the UK.

Justice Richard Hacon, Presiding Judge in the IPEC, will preside over a mock case management conference (“CMC”) and a mock trial for an IP dispute. The role play will involve Singapore IP lawyers and demonstrate key areas where IPEC practice differs from the High Court at the CMC and trial stages.

Participants will gain a first hand appreciation of the salient features of the IPEC, and enjoy the rare opportunity to pose questions to his Honour at the end of the role play.

Judge

• Judge Richard Hacon, Presiding Judge, Intellectual Property Enterprise Court (IPEC)

Speakers

• Anna Toh, Associate Director, Amica Law LLC
• Gloria Goh, Partner, Allen & Glenhill LLP
• Just Wang, Associate, Bird & Bird ATMD
• Nicholas Lauw, Partner, Rajah & Tann Singapore LLP

IP Commercialisation: Leveraging Intangible Assets for Exponential Growth

In today’s vibrant economic landscape, businesses have excelled in generating ideas and intangible assets from robust R&D and innovation efforts. Yet they are not fully reaping the profit-making potential of their most important resource—their intangible assets. Many C-level executives still see IP as a legal protection measure, rather than a strategic thrust driving their business model. The business arena is littered with “war stories” from IP trenches where businesses are either unaware of their intangible assets, or unable to transform them into greater value—against competitors who have leveraged their intangibles for exponential growth. How then can businesses successfully translate their IP assets into products or services that can go to market, create profits and promote expansion? Our distinguished panel of IP-rich enterprises and agencies discuss the controversial lessons, challenges and potential of commercialising IP.

Moderator

• Paul Adams, Chief Executive Officer, EverEdge Global

Speakers

• Satvinder Singh, Assistant Chief Executive Officer, Enterprise Singapore
• Tan Shau En, Executive Director, IP ValueLab
• Teng Tat Chong, Vice President, Technology Office, ST Engineering Land System
• Veiverne Yuen, Co-founder & Managing Director, Tryb