5th BIP Asia Forum Set for Early December

The Hong Kong Trade Development Council announced on Friday that the fifth Business of IP Asia Forum will begin on Dec 3 to discuss sustainable IP business models and opportunities brought by the Belt and Road Initiative.

Jointly organized by the Hong Kong government, the HKTDC and the Hong Kong Design Centre, the two-day forum will include three themed lectures and 15 sub-forums, where delegates will discuss corporate IP rights protection and how to expand business via IP trade.

With the theme of "IP: Transforming Global Business", the event is expected to promote IP trade in Asia and worldwide and improve Asian companies' competitiveness.

It will invite more than 80 speakers and attract 2,000 industry insiders, Xinhua News Agency reported.

The forum and the Intellectual Property Department of the Hong Kong government will host a training program during the forum for IP managers in small- and medium-sized companies. Hong Kong's IP experts will give lessons about IP trade, management of trademarks, patents, copyrights and designs, and the IP registration and application process in Hong Kong.

Raymond Yip, deputy executive director of the HKTDC, said IP trade has been growing robustly in recent years in China, noting that the total value of technology contracts on the Chinese mainland was nearly 400 billion yuan ($62.6 billion) in 2010, and reached 1 trillion yuan this year. He said the amount is forecast to increase to 2 trillion yuan by 2020.

Meanwhile, Hong Kong's IP imports and exports both averaged double-digit growth in recent years, he said.

Yip also said the Belt and Road Initiative will help increase the demand for high-end services on the Chinese mainland and regions along the Belt and Road, including IP services.

Encouraged by the initiative, mainland companies, especially high-tech companies, are picking up the pace of their overseas expansion, and IP protection and trade play crucial roles in their planning, financing and market operations, which leads to greater demand for IP trade, Yip said.

Hong Kong has "obvious advantages" in the IP business, he said. "It has many professionals that can provide customized services. With well-established law and IP protection systems, it is a world-recognized IP mediation and arbitration center. It is also known for its financing capability."

However, the regions along the Belt and Road have different legal and financing systems, and Yip suggested Hong Kong's IP professionals learn more about previously unfamiliar markets.

The annual BIP Asia Forum, which started in 2011, is an exchange platform for international IP rights owners, users and service providers.

(Source: China Daily)