Singapore to establish first intellectual property representative office in China

Businesses and inventors venturing in to and out of China will soon benefit from greater protection, exploitation and commercialization of intellectual property through the establishment of an Intellectual Property Office of Singapore's (IPOS) Representative Office in Guangzhou, China.

IPOS, along with the State Intellectual Property Office of China (SIPO) and the Guangdong Provincial People's Government, endorsed the project at the inaugural Trilateral Meeting in Guangzhou on April 14.

Officials attended affirmed the joint commitment to developing the Sino-Singapore Guangzhou Knowledge City (SSGKC) into a "model zone for intellectual property co-operation" between China and Singapore.

The proposal by the Guangdong Provincial People's Government covered several areas of collaboration including the development of an integrated IP services framework and training programmes. IPOS' representative office will facilitate software exchange of IP services and talent development between China and Singapore. To date, the IP Academy of Singapore has introduced and organized IP programmes for close to 300 Chinese officials from Guangzhou.

During the Trilateral Meeting, all parties also agreed to the formation of a high-level trilateral advisory. This panel is planned to advise and guide the intellectual property Model Hub's development in the city on the implementation of the proposal.