HONG KONG, Dec 5, 2019 - (ACN Newswire) - The ninth edition of the Business of IP Asia Forum (BIP Asia Forum) -
organised by the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), the Hong Kong Trade Development
Council (HKTDC) and Hong Kong Design Centre - opened today and runs for two days (5 and 6 December) at the Hong Kong
Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC). This year's theme is "IP: Building an Innovative and Inclusive Future for
Business".
The 2019 forum brings together more than 70 prominent speakers, including business leaders from leading technology
corporations such as Canon, Microsoft, Nvidia, Google and Impossible Foods, who will share insights into IP strategies
for sustainable corporate growth. Carrie Lam, Chief Executive of the HKSAR and Gan Shaoning, Deputy Commissioner of the
National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) of the People's Republic of China, officiated at this morning's
opening ceremony. Francis Gurry, Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), delivered a
congratulatory message.
According to the latest figures from WIPO, the number of worldwide patent applications is currently in its ninth
consecutive year of growth, with a year-on-year increase of 5.2% in 2018 to around 3.3 million. In her welcome remarks,
commenting on Hong Kong's advantages as an innovation and intellectual property (IP) trading hub, HKTDC Executive
Director Margaret Fong said: "We will continue to build on our strengths, including a sound legal system and dispute
resolution framework, robust IP protection regime, strong IP support services and comprehensive financial services. Hong
Kong plays a vital role in supporting the incredible level of IP activity in Mainland China and Asia as a whole,
providing a connection to the international market." Ms Fong added that the city will continue to be a focal point for
the generation and trading of IP, including technology transfer, licensing, franchising and copyright trading.
Asian entrepreneurs and experts highlight power of IP strategy
In recent years, Asia has experienced the fastest growth of IP usage. This morning's plenary session brought together
Kenichi Nagasawa, Managing Executive Officer and Group Executive of Corporate Intellectual Property & Legal Headquarters at Canon Inc, and Winnie Yeung, Assistant General Counsel, Corporate, External and Legal Affairs at
Microsoft, to share their insights on corporate IP strategies.
Subsequent breakout sessions invited expert speakers to discuss IP developments in Asia and the IP ecosystem in the
Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. Speakers included Soh Kar Liang, President of the ASEAN Intellectual
Property Association; Hirohito Katsunuma, President of the Asian Patent Attorneys Association; Satoshi Konno, Managing
Director of Innovation Division, IP Bridge Inc; Hunk Li, Vice President of Comba Telecom Systems Holdings Limited; Ally
Zhuang, Deputy General Manager and Chief Legal Officer of Guangzhou Shiyuan Electronic Technology Company Limited. At
the keynote luncheon, Ge Jun, Global CEO of ToJoy Shared Holding Group, presented on the likely IP trends in the context
of a shared economy. Concurrent breakout sessions in the afternoon covered a range of topics, including co-branding, IP
legal tips, business best practices regarding common IP, trademark problems, and legal policies relating to artificial
intelligence.
IP start-ups compete for patents
Launched last year, the eagerly awaited open-innovation competition "IPHatch Hong Kong" will be held again this year
under the theme "Jumpstarting Your Business". Leading international companies Panasonic and Nokia will provide 10 IP
portfolios - covering various sectors ranging from smart city to the Internet of Things (IoT) - to encourage start-ups
and entrepreneurs to be creative in using patented technologies to expand their businesses.
Charles Lo, Director and Founder of MAE and Upmood, was one of last year's "IPHatch Hong Kong" winners. He was awarded a
licence for an IP portfolio offered by Nokia, integrating their patented technology into his emotion tracking bracelet.
By expanding the scope of services offered by his company, Mr Lo has been able to enlarge his target customer group from
small enterprises to big corporates such as theme parks. The next step will be collaborating with Universal Music to
publish a song list for music therapy.
Another winner was Mok Wai-pong, Chief Technology Officer of Imagixe Limited, who won an image correction sensor licence
offered by Panasonic, using it for the development of lightweight tools for smart orthosis and healthcare in order to
benefit the disabled. Also winning at the first "IPHatch Hong Kong" in 2018 was Daniel Chun, Founder & CEO, AIRXED Technology Limited. Mr Chun was awarded a patented technology licence offered by Panasonic, which allowed
him to progress quickly in a project related to the development of smart home appliances.
Sharpening competitive edge for cross-media collaboration
The total revenue generated from the global games market is estimated to reach US$148.8 billion in 2019, 46% of which
($68.2 billion) will be generated by the mobile game industry - with the Asia Pacific region remaining the biggest
market. In a seminar this afternoon, focusing on the opportunities for game IPs, Hendrick Sin, Co-founder and Vice
Chairman of CMGE Technology Group Limited, Xu Yiran, Chairman and CEO of Leyou Technology Holdings Limited, and Kevin
Lee, Founder and CEO of Redspots Creative (Hong Kong) Company Limited, explained the developing trend for personalised
products and services in the mobile game sector, discussing the interrelation between different media in the cultural
and creative industry.
Global Tech Summit opens tomorrow
The protection of intellectual property is important in promoting creativity and technological innovation. At the Global
Tech Summit tomorrow morning, various technology leaders will explore developments in the innovation and technology
market from different aspects including autonomous vehicles, smart city, 5G, food technology and smart manufacturing.
World-class speakers will include Dan Berman, Director of Business Development, Autonomous Driving at Nvidia; Timothy
Tam, Head of Public Policy and Government Affairs (Hong Kong) at Google; Hilton Wong, Assistant Vice President, Mobility
Solutions Consultancy at CSL Mobile Limited; Heidi Nam, General Manager (Hong Kong) at Impossible Foods; and enterprises
from the Hong Kong Science and Technology Park, including: Dr Shuyu Chen, Chief Executive Officer of the Acoustic
Metamaterials Group; Dr Daniel Shi, Senior Director, Integrated Circuits and Systems at the Hong Kong Applied Science
and Technology Research Institute; and Roy Lim, Vice President of Tung Hing Automation.
Invention and innovation are the driving forces of economic growth and the key to success for entrepreneurs.
Co-organised with the Hong Kong Exporters' Association, the Hong Kong Invention Congress will gather experts from
Geneva, including President David Taji and Director Gaelle Grosjean of the International Exhibition of Inventions of
Geneva, to share their insights on trends relating to the commercialisation of innovation. Representatives from
corporates such as Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Group, KOLN 3D and Circular Wave Drive will join the session to tell the
stories behind their inventions.
Several concurrent breakout sessions will be held during the forum, one of which is co-organised with the Department of
Justice of the HKSAR tomorrow afternoon. "Legal Infrastructure for a Sustainable, Resilient and Inclusive Future for
Business of IP" will feature a number of high-profile speakers who will share on the protection of trademarks and brand
building, as well as dispute resolution involving IP rights.
Throughout BIP Asia, the Hong Kong Bar Association and the Licensing Executives Society China, Hong Kong Sub-Chapter
will provide free on-site IP consultation services, with the HKTDC and the Intellectual Property Department of the HKSAR
jointly presenting an "IP Manager Training Programme" to help build manpower capacity in SMEs. In addition, IP
practitioners from different sectors and countries/regions have come together in the Exhibition Zone to seize networking
opportunities with IP service providers, global intellectual property organisations, universities and research and
development centres.
Running concurrently with the BIP Asia Forum at the HKCEC are the Asian E-tailing Summit, HKTDC SmartBiz Expo, HKTDC
Hong Kong International Franchising Show and DesignInspire, where SMEs can explore different technologies, platforms and
models to support business growth and expand their networks at the same time.