Encouraging SMEs to Protect Their Intellectual Property Business Interests

Mr Neil Parekh Nimil Rajnikant asked the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Trade and Industry (a) what steps has the Government taken to encourage small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to protect their intellectual property (IP) business interests for the Singapore and global markets; (b) what issues have the SMEs faced in their efforts to protect their IP business interests; and (c) what roles can trade associations and chambers of commerce play in assisting SMEs in this area.

Mr Speaker, the Singapore IP Strategy 2030 (SIPS 2030) was launched by the Ministry of Law, Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Trade and Industry in 2021 to grow Singapore as a global hub for Intangible Assets and Intellectual Property (IA/IP) activities and transactions, as well as to maintain Singapore's highly regarded IA/IP regime.

As part of SIPS 2030, the Government launched the GoBusiness IP Grow platform in 2023 to better support the enterprises' IP needs and to help them grow and expand globally. The platform connects enterprises with third-party IP service providers for assistance in areas like IP search and registration. Enterprises can also get help from IP Business Clinics through the platform. First-timers can receive a complimentary 45-minute consultation session with participating service providers to receive advice on IP strategy and matters concerning expanding into overseas markets.

To help enterprises leverage IP to drive business growth, the Government has set up more than 15 enterprise touchpoints island-wide at Startup Accelerators and Incubators, as well as SME Centres that are run by trade associations and chambers (TACs). The Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS) works with these touchpoints to support the IP needs of our SMEs. IPOS help enterprises with their IP needs and supports the TACs by training their SME Centre Business Advisors on IP-related topics and by integrating IP support into the TACs' programmes.

To address companies' feedback on the costs of IP protection, Enterprise Singapore's Enterprise Development Grant offsets the IP fees that the companies incur when developing innovative and new products, and the Market Readiness Assistance Grant covers IP registration costs in overseas markets.

The Government will continue to support our SMEs in leveraging IP for growth locally and internationally and to strengthen Singapore's position as a Global-Asia node for technology, innovation and enterprise.