The Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS) has opened its first overseas Representative Office at the Sino-Singapore Guangzhou Knowledge City (SSGKC) in Guangdong, China.
The SSGKC is a joint project between leaders from Guangdong and Singapore and covers an area of 123 sq km. It is projected to have a population of 500,000 in the next twenty years and seeks to attract knowledge-based industries.
Through the opening of the Representative Office on 24 May 2016, IPOS seeks to promote capabilities that Singapore IP service providers can offer to Chinese enterprises and help them expand overseas. In doing so, Singapore IP service providers will have access to the opportunities that arise from the projected growth.
Singapore IP service providers, being from a country where both Chinese and English are widely spoken, are well positioned to assist Chinese speaking enterprise owners to interface with the global IP community. Accordingly, the opening of IPOS’s SSGKC Representative Office will complement IPOS’ vision for Singapore to be an IP Hub of Asia.
In a press release issued by IPOS, Singapore Acting Minister for Education and Senior Minister of State for Defence Ong Ye Kung, who launched the new Representative Office, noted that the SSGKC is an important flagship project “aimed at becoming a knowledge and innovation zone and catalysing the economic transformation of Guangdong.”
IPOS Chief Executive Daren Tang said “We want to help Singapore’s IP service providers connect with innovative companies in China, and also promote Singapore’s suite of IP products and services to Chinese companies that have set their sights on the dynamic ASEAN region.”
This move offers opportunities for Chinese enterprises and IP providers in Singapore and globally. We will provide an update as the IPOS Representative Office identifies the services it will provide to link Singapore IP service providers to Chinese enterprises and as it expands its services further.