Hong Kong is poised to be the intellectual property trading hub in Asia due to rising demand on the Chinese mainland, officials from the special administrative region said at the recent Business of IP Asia Forum.
Addressing an audience of more than 1,300 at the forum, Gregory So, secretary for Commerce and Economic Development at the Hong Kong SAR government, said the geographic balance of IP has changed significantly over the past two decades.
From 1995 to 2009, the share of global IP patent applications from the United States, Europe and Japan together dropped from 77 percent to 59 percent, while China's share alone increased from 1.8 percent to 17 percent.
During the same period, China's ratio of trademark applications worldwide grew from less than 10 percent to more than 25 percent.
"The trend is likely to continue relentlessly in the future," said So, adding that it will mean huge business opportunities for people and companies in the region.
"It is obvious that China will continue to be the growth engine for the world economy, and the country has a great appetite for IP obtained from R&D and acquired from abroad," he said.
Following Western counterparts, Chinese firms increasingly see IP as a core business asset that should be built, managed, valued and leveraged to drive innovation and growth, he added.
With such a vast mainland market, there is already a huge demand for traditional market intermediaries such as patent and trademark agents, lawyers and accountants, So said.
He added that new opportunities have arisen for collaborate groups and intermediaries that can provide services ranging from management, trading and portfolio building to licensing, financing advice and arbitration.
"As always, Hong Kong plays an indispensable strategic role as a gateway to the mainland."
As a regional center of technology transfer, Hong Kong exported $1.1 billion in technology to the Chinese mainland in 2010, ranking it sixth among regions or countries.
He added that Hong Kong has a number of major advantages that distinguish it, such as its "excellent soft environment" for IP businesses that includes a reliable, transparent legal system and simple, low tax regime.
Hong Kong is often chosen as a home for overseas companies, especially small and medium sized enterprises, to license or franchise their IP to mainland investors.
Fred Lam, executive director of Hong Kong Trade Development Council, told the forum that a key factor driving IP trading today is the dramatic economic shift from West to East, and the equally significant rise of Asian consumption, particularly on the mainland.
"Those realities bring with them extraordinary IP opportunities here in Asia, particularly for Hong Kong businesses and the growing critical mass of IP-related companies based here," Lam said.
(Source: China Daily)
