Singapore launches SME, start-up and young innovator initiatives
Country’s annual IP Week begins with promise of more resources for innovators | New support for start-ups will offer free IP advice and training.
Amid its annual IP Week@SG conference, the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS) has launched various initiatives aimed at fostering innovation across the country.
With a particular focus on start-ups, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and young innovators, IPOS is set to offer more resources to innovate, including free IP legal advice, patent drafting and/or prosecution services, resources, and training.
Start-ups in Singapore will benefit from IP Start, an initiative that will provide free IP advice, training, and resources to start-ups through start-up accelerators and incubators.
Already, 12 accelerators and incubators are committed up to help start-ups in their infancy by providing workspace, seed funding, mentoring, resources, and training.
Edwin Tong, minister for culture, community and youth, and second minister for law, in his opening address at IP Week@SG 2022, said: “Start-ups are hothouses for new ideas that could be brought to market, but may lack the expertise to identify and effectively exploit their innovations through IP.”
IPOS—alongside Action Community for Entrepreneurship, International Enterprise Singapore, Singapore Business Federation, Singapore Fintech Association and SGTech—has developed a trade secrets guide to help enterprises better manage their trade secrets.
A 2021 IPOS survey indicated that while 98% of businesses recognised that trade secrets were important for business growth, less than half took steps to safeguard their trade secrets, mostly due to a lack of knowledge.
Thirdly, the Singapore chapter of the IAP (a joint initiative between IPOS and the World Intellectual Property Organization) will help youth in tertiary education navigate the patent system.
Five volunteer patent attorneys from the Association of Singapore Patent Attorneys will participate in the first phase, with the IAP expected to be operational in the fourth quarter of this year.
Tong: “SMEs play a critical role in the Singapore economy, accounting for 99% of all companies and employing 70% of the local force. Start-ups are also important engines of innovation, generating new ideas, products, and services. To reap the full benefits of their innovations, they need to have the expertise and know-how to secure their IP rights. These initiatives will provide innovators with the resources to help them gain a competitive edge.”
During IP Week@SG 2022, the IP office is expected to sign a series of memorandums of understanding (MoU).
IPOS will sign an MoU with the Asia Pacific Institute of Experts to promote and train technical and valuation experts for IP and technology disputes, while an MoU with the Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property is expected to enhance bilateral cooperation in IP commercialisation, training, and exchanges involving frontier technologies.
The IP office will also sign an MoU with SGInnovate (which helps entrepreneurial scientists build deep tech start-ups) to upskill and train tech start-ups within SGInnovate’s portfolio in IP identification and management.
Finally, the office will also sign an MoU with the China Intellectual Property Training Center to collaborate on IP education and IP talent development to build an IP-savvy workforce.
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