Hong Kong Holds 14th Business of IP Asia Forum to Discuss Industry Development and Opportunities

The 14th Business of IP Asia Forum (BIP Asia), co-organised by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council and the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region ("the Government"), was held in Hong Kong on 5-6 December 2024, bringing together 2,500-plus intellectual property (IP) owners, investors, service providers, business leaders, and policy makers from about 20 countries and regions to discuss the potential and opportunities of IP.

This year's BIP Asia, under the theme of “Reimagining IP for Impact and Growth”, explored the development of IP trading and its potential in nurturing innovation and entrepreneurship as well as driving impactful economic and social development through an array of events including plenary and breakout sessions, policy dialogue, and global tech summit.

In his opening remarks, Hong Kong Chief Secretary for Administration Mr. Chan Kwok-ki said that Hong Kong is committed to becoming a regional IP trading centre, in tune with the clear support stated in the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021–2025) of China for Hong Kong's development into an international innovation and technology hub. With the goal in mind, the government has been working towards the establishment of a World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Technology and Innovation Support Center (TISC) in Hong Kong to provide essential services to help local entrepreneurs and businesses protect and commercialise their innovations, and the TISC is expected to start operations next year at the earliest. Mr. Chan further talked about government's plans to enhance local IP infrastructure by updating Copyright Ordinance, revamping design registration system, and proposing legislative amendments to streamline IP litigation, as well as the plans to develop IP training materials for 23 industries and introduce regulatory arrangements for local patent agents as part of the efforts to build an IP-savvy workforce.

In addition to speeches and discussion sessions, the forum also featured "Innovation and IP Market", a platform for showcasing innovative projects from universities, research and development (R&D) centres, start-ups and technology companies in areas such as artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics, smart healthcare, and smart living.