I am pleased to welcome you to the 2023 Business of Intellectual Property (BIP) Asia Forum.
This year, some 2 000 intellectual property (IP) owners and entrepreneurs, users, service providers, technology enablers and other professionals, including special delegations such as the China National Intellectual Property Administration, and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) delegation representing all 10 member states, gather in Hong Kong to hear from more than 60 internationally renowned speakers and exchange insights on the theme “IP & Innovation: Steering New Economic Growth”.
Forum highlights include a plenary session on IP strategies in the digital era, and a breakout session spotlighting IP and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, organised with the Guangdong Administration for Market Regulation (Guangdong Intellectual Property Administration) in day one. To complement the Government’s emphasis placed on deepening the cooperation with ASEAN, the Forum features an ASEAN session on trademark value, bringing together IP policymakers, regulators and companies from ASEAN and Hong Kong. They will share their insights on using trademarks for licensing and business growth. What is even more exciting is, for the first time, BIP Asia will be located together with the concurrent Entrepreneur Day, creating additional opportunities for IP owners, service providers and users with start-ups.
In my annual Policy Address this year, I announced a variety of initiatives to advance Hong Kong’s development as an international innovation and technology centre and a regional IP trading centre. They include the establishment of a New Industrialisation Development Office, as well as a Microelectronics Research and Development Institute and a supercomputing centre. In addition, we will look at enhancing copyright protection for AI technology development. Next year, we plan to reduce the tax rate for profits on patents, from today’s 16.5 per cent to five per cent. We are determined to encourage research and development work in Hong Kong, including the commercialisation of patented inventions.
My thanks to the Hong Kong Trade Development Council for organising this year’s Business of IP Asia Forum with joint effort of the Government. I wish you all a rewarding two days at the Forum and the best of IP business in the coming year.
Welcome to the Business of IP Asia Forum, organised by the Hong Kong SAR Government and Hong Kong Trade Development Council.
IP has long played a critical role in facilitating the development of innovations that help economies and businesses grow and societies thrive.
It enables businesses, in particular SMEs and start-ups, to gain access to much-needed capital to expand and transform. It gives innovators the confidence to invest time and resources into R&D and to commercialise their products and services.
It is difficult to innovate without ideas being protected. Therefore, a robust and sustainable IP ecosystem is crucial for innovations to take shape.
Hong Kong is a centre for innovation. It has world-class R&D and IP infrastructure, coupled with top-notch academic research and robust government support. The 14th Five-Year Plan supports Hong Kong’s development into a regional IP trading hub.
In his latest Policy Address, Hong Kong SAR Chief Executive John Lee reiterated the Government’s commitment to further strengthen Hong Kong’s IP ecosystem and drive innovation and growth in the city by enhancing the city’s IP legal regime and introducing the patent box tax incentives.
Titled “IP & Innovation: Steering New Economic Growth”, the BIP Asia Forum once again brings together global IP industry players and business leaders to Hong Kong to discuss the latest IP developments and explore collaboration opportunities.
At the Policy Dialogue, global IP leaders share their insights on how a future-ready IP strategy can fuel worldwide economic growth. The Plenary Session looks at IP strategies in the digital era to help brands grow today.
The Innovation & IP Market aims to strengthen IP commercialisation and facilitate collaboration. Themed “Cleantech”, it convenes universities, R&D centres, start-ups and companies with IPs focused on recycling, green materials, waste management, energy efficiency and more to engage with IP users, service providers and investors.
The Forum features ASEAN sessions on trademark value and licensing, opportunities and challenges in trademark commercialisation and brand licensing in Hong Kong and ASEAN, organised by the ASEAN Secretariat and Hong Kong SAR Intellectual Property Department in collaboration with the World Intellectual Property Organization.
Furthermore, tech trailblazers and industry innovators share their insights on how generative AI is impacting the global business landscape and helping solve real-world problems at the Forum’s Global Tech Summit.
Breakout sessions cover an array of topics, including digital copyrights and arts, IP collaboration and IP developments in the biomedical industry in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and AI-related IP issues. Another session shines a spotlight on IP commercialisation and entrepreneurship.
Entrepreneur Day runs concurrently to the Forum, which I encourage you to also visit. At E-Day, you can explore the latest innovations and ideas as well as find new partners and seize collaboration opportunities.
I wish you all a fruitful BIP Asia Forum 2023.