After two years of having been affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, IP Week Singapore 2022 was conducted in hybrid format in a welcoming expectation from the business community, innovators and IP professionals around the world. According to IPOS, IP Week 2021 attracted more than 10,000 participants from over 50 countries, of which more than 40% of the attendees were businesses.

 Director General Dinh Huu Phi and IPVN officials attend Singapore Intellectual Property Week 2022

Different from the theme of IP Week 2021 "Ideas to Assets - Emerging Stronger with IP", the theme of IP Week 2022 is changed to adapt to the new normal: "Ideas to Assets – Chart our Future with IP", which implies that businesses need to know how to seize opportunities, consider decision-making and use IP as a driver in an economy driven by intangible assets.

Delivering keynote speech at the Global Forum on IP,WIPO Director General Daren Tang said the COVID-19 pandemic has been both a great disruptor and a potent accelerator of existing technology trends. He also cited the decades-long shift in the landscape of innovation. Today, seven in 10 IP filings originate from Asia, Africa and Latin America, up from 5 in 10 a decade ago.

According to Mr. Daren Tang, these radical changes have shown that the work of WIPO and the global IP community can no longer be a mere service. The global IP community must continue being fully committed to transforming IP from a technical vertical of interest only to specialists, into a powerful catalyst for jobs, investments and development that supports innovators and creators everywhere and thus, IP Offices must forge partnerships and engage and work across industries and professions, helping to build IP as a bridge that connects all the different elements in an innovation ecosystem for the movement of ideas to the market.

Attending the Global Forum on IP this year and sharing experiences, discussing around the IP Week theme were IP Leaders’ Plenary speakers such as Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), Director General of the IP Offices of Japan, China, the Philippines and Chief Executive of IPOS .

According to the speakers, that the year 2020 saw record IP filings despite experiencing the biggest economic shock since the Great Depression – global IP filings crossed 17 million, a 13% increase from the previous year. Against all odds, the IP sector and ecosystem proved to be remarkably resilient. Innovation and IP activities remain vibrant and are poised for further growth. The advent of cutting-edge technologies powered by artificial intelligence, Big Data and the Internet of Things present unparalleled opportunities for innovators and entrepreneurs alike, putting the spotlight on the IP system. In this context, the Global Forum on IP has gathered speakers who are IP Leaders around the world to work together, develop more innovative programmes to better prepare for such game changers, and thus enable the global economy and enterprises to chart our future with IP.

 Director General Dinh Huu Phi holds a bilateral meeting with WIPO Director General Daren Tang

 Director General Dinh Huu Phi holds a bilateral meeting with Ms. Rena Lee, Chief Executive of IPOS

Director General Dinh Huu Phi holds a bilateral meeting with Mr. Etienne Sanz de Acedo, CEO of the International Trademark Association (INTA)

During IP Week Singapore 2022, Director General Dinh Huu Phi also attended the “Strategic Dialogue to Enable SMEs to Better Use the IP System” organized by WIPO in collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Singapore. The event aimed to build a cooperative relationship between IP offices, trade and industry chambers and the business sector with the desire to provide the business sector with more support, both in terms of knowledge, policies and techniques to be able to effectively use the IP system in developing business activities.

Director General Dinh Huu Phi attends the “Strategic Dialogue to Enable SMEs to Better Use the IP System”

On the occasion of attending IP Week Singapore, Director General Dinh Huu Phi met with WIPO Director General Daren Tang. Mr. Tang said he was pleased to see the positive results of innovation activities in Viet Nam and that WIPO has attached great importance to cooperation with Viet Nam, as demonstrated by many recent high-level contacts between leaders of the state, Ministry of Science and Technology and WIPO, as well as WIPO's appointment of a Deputy Director General to Viet Nam working with relevant agencies of Viet Nam as a follow up on the implementation of cooperation initiatives that were agreed within the framework of the visit to WIPO by President Nguyen Xuan Phuc in November 2021.

In addition, Director General Dinh Huu Phi had a bilateral meeting with IPOS CE, Ms. Rena Lee. Leaders of the two IP Offices affirmed to push up the implementation of the cooperation plan period 2022 - 2024 between the two Offices that was signed on the occasion of the State visit to Singapore in February 2022 of President Nguyen Xuan Phuc, including the pilot Collaborative Search and Examination (CS&E).

On the same day, Director General Dinh Huu Phi had a meeting with the CEO of the International Trademark Association (INTA), Mr. Etienne Sanz de Acedo. Highly valuing the central role of IP Viet Nam in the IP system of Viet Nam, Mr. Etienne Sanz de Acedo suggested that the two sides should strengthen cooperative activities in the coming time by jointly organizing seminars on famous and non-traditional trademarks,  handling bad faith trademark filings and enforcement of IP rights. To institutionalize, the INTA CEO proposed a bilateral MOU that concretizes the cooperation needs of each side. Besides, he invited Director General Dinh Huu Phi to attend the INTA's Annual Meeting scheduled to be held in May 2023 in Singapore and introduce suitable businesses to take part in and speak at this event. Director General Dinh Huu Phi thanked the INTA CEO and highly appreciated INTA's proposals.

High-level contacts with WIPO, IPOS and INTA have confirmed the good cooperation between IP Viet Nam and these offices and organizations. In the coming time, the parties will further promote bilateral cooperation with IP Viet Nam, thereby contributing to strengthening the innovation ecosystem in Viet Nam.

International Cooperation Division