The outsider’s vision: Daren Tang, WIPO
In any roll call of director generals who have taken the helm at the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) after securing the top job in IP, Daren Tang stands out.
As the first Asian to be appointed to lead the United Nations agency, he is acutely aware that such visibility matters.
Indeed, Tang—who took the role in 2020 after a spell as director of the IP Office of Singapore (IPOS) and then beating Wang Binying, WIPO’s then deputy director general to the post—celebrates his ‘outsider status’.
“I’m the first director general to come from outside WIPO; all my predecessors for the past 40 years have been promoted from within the organisation,” he notes.
And after coming from a different career path than his predecessors, as well as the cultural melting pot of Singapore, he believes he is well-placed to promote and foster working cultures “that are more open, dynamic, and transparent”.
As a caveat, however, he observes that: “Cultural change doesn’t come easily. You need to change habits that have been established for quite some time.”
But despite being visibly tired after emerging from an “intense working period” when he joins WIPR Diversity for a call—and these acknowledged barriers —Tang’s enthusiasm for promoting D&I appears boundless.
“I have a vision of what the world can potentially look like in 20 years’ time. I continually imagine a better world for my children to live in, work in and raise their loved ones,” the former international awyer, committed family man and accomplished jazz musician enthuses.
Taking action
And such a vision requires action rather than mere words, insists Tang, who has lost substantial shut-eye after having just emerged from a “frantic” fortnight overseeing WIPO’s Assemblies.
In landmark developments, the event welcomed a breakthrough in hitherto stalled treaty agreements covering design law as well as the protection of generic resources and traditional knowledge—a breakthrough much sought after by indigenous communities.
“I could see tears and it was quite amazing. I didn’t expect this—no one expected it,” says Tang, who adds that such material progress needs to be seen more in the delivery of D&I goals.
“We don’t just want to talk, or add noise. I want WIPO to be a place where people act after talking,” he says.
And Tang is no stranger to achieving ambitious and visionary goals. His five-year term at the head of IPOS saw major updates to Singapore’s IP Hub master plan, legislative and policy reforms to the IP regime, and a scaling up of international engagement.
By the end of his tenure in 2020, he had driven the strategic transformation of IPOS from an IP registry and regulator into a core industry agency at the heart of Singapore’s economy.
Serving the underserved
Now his attention is firmly fixed on global ambitions—and his message that the potential of IP is open to everybody, regardless of background or circumstances.
“We are the global agency for IP, so the most important aim is to build a more inclusive IP ecosystem throughout the world,” he emphasises.
In his opening speech marking his appointment to WIPO, he underscored how after 50 years, several member states remain unaware of how IP can help advance their economies.
Special attention, he urged, must be paid to those that need more help, especially the developing countries and the least developed among them—and this support must respect political, economic and cultural considerations.
