IP Week @ SG 2018: Learning more about IP ValueLab
What is the purpose of the IP ValueLab?
Singapore’s economy is transforming. To prepare for the future economy, the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS) has evolved from an IP registry to an innovation agency.
To achieve this, we put in place concrete measures to support the transformation of ideas into assets. We believe the best way to do this is through enterprises, and our efforts are now directed towards using our technical abilities to help them commercialise their IP and support innovation from and through Singapore.
IPOS’s enterprise engagement arm—IP ValueLab (IPVL)—was set up with the mission of providing advice to businesses so they can maximise the value of their intangible assets and leverage them for growth.
In the past 15 months, we have worked with about 50 companies on a variety of engagements, from simple audits to identifying intangible assets and helping companies formulate an intangible asset strategy that is aligned with their business goals to compete and grow globally. We have also helped our partner fund—Makara Innovation Fund (MIF)—conduct intangible asset due diligence before it invests in a company.
IPVL will continue to evolve our services to meet global market needs, and work with strategic partners to service the flow of ideas and innovation through Singapore as a gateway, positioning us as an attractive location to manage companies’ IP and intangible assets.
Why did IPOS decide to partner with MIF?
In Southeast Asia, there is no lack of investment funds but they tend to be concentrated in the early and mature stages, leaving a gap in the B to D rounds. We also noticed that funds are more crowded towards traditional investment themes such as infrastructure, resources and property, rather than on innovation.
In this strategic partnership, we combine the private sector’s business acumen and contacts with IPOS’s deep technical understanding of innovation and IP, as well as extensive global networks to help promising enterprises scale globally. MIF was designed to plug the funding gap by providing smart growth capital to innovation-driven enterprises.
