Conversations on Intellectual Property

SUMMARY

Singapore aims to be a global hub for intangible assets (IA) and intellectual property (IP), by attracting and growing innovative businesses, and developing skill sets and jobs in these two areas. 

Today’s youth are digital natives who grew up in a connected world where the line between physical and digital world is blurred. This has shaped a generation that is arguably the most entrepreneurial, innovative, and creative. As we move into a future where more youths are developing careers or working in industries founded on creating IA/IP, how can youths (i) be more aware of what is IP; and (ii) better protect their IP?

WHAT WE HEARD

World Intellectual Property Day 2022 Dialogue (26 April 2022)

Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS) and National Youth Council (NYC) co-organised “IP and Youth: Innovating for a Better Future”, a hybrid conversation on 26 April 2022, involving 90 physical attendees, over 300 virtual participants and the following speakers:

• MOS Alvin Tan – Minister of State for Culture, Community and Youth & Trade and Industry
• Benjamin Kheng – Musician, Actor, Writer, Director
• Sabrina Shiraz – Co-host/Co-founder of podcast Randomly Relatable SG
• Louis Liu – Founder and CEO of FOMO Pay Pte Ltd
• Benjamin Cheong – Co-Deputy Head, Technology, Media and Telecommunications, Rajah & Tann Singapore LLP

Here are the key insights of the panel dialogue:

Youths had limited knowledge and understanding of Intellectual Property (IP) 

• Most youths do not fully understand IP – In a recent poll done with 1,000 youths, 70% of respondents were familiar with IP but less than 20% of youths fully understood the definitions and differences between the different types of IP.
• Most youth content producers do not protect their content – The poll demonstrated that 2 in 3 youths were active content producers and have created content for their personal use. However, 67% of these youths did not protect their content.
• Indifferent attitude towards IP – Ms Sabrina said that IP knowledge was low and often disregarded by youths as the topic was difficult to digest and most felt that it did not significantly affect them.

Leveraging IP to allow creators to curate with confidence and protect their original works. 

• IP allows for creations to be marketed with ease – Mr Cheong said that IP enables youths to market their creations and innovations to the world, thus allowing them to grow their businesses with a peace of mind. 
• IP has helped protect artistic works – Mr Kheng said that IP helped to protect his music and prevented others from profiting unfairly from his work.
• Knowledge of IP heightens awareness and respect – Ms Sabrina said that knowledge of IP rights increased her awareness and respect for the works of others. 
• IP can increase the value of a business – Mr Liu said that IP helped to make one’s business more valuable to potential investors and prevented others from impersonating his company on social media.

Platforms to learn more about IP

• Content creators should practice caution and courtesy – Ms Sabrina advised youths aspiring to become content creators to protect their IP by reading the terms and conditions of social media and streaming platforms to determine IP rights and include watermarks and trademarks on the content they create. She encouraged youths to seek permission from content creators before using their works and to respect their rights to withdraw permission. 
• Musicians can reach out to institutions for IP help – Mr Kheng said that budding musicians could seek help from institutions to protect their IP such as COMPASS (Composers and Authors Society of Singapore), record labels, or Government resources. 
• Business website domains should be registered – Mr Liu advised young entrepreneurs to register their business website domains to prevent online impersonation and recommended signing mutual non-disclosure agreements or proprietary agreements when making deals with other parties.
• Patents and trademarks can be applied – Mr Cheong said that young entrepreneurs should strategically invest in IP protection and apply for patents and trademarks as a preventive measure.

Detailed Notes For 26 aPr 2022