303. I would like to thank the US for drafting the paper to wrap up and summarise the fruitful discussions that the Membership had in 2019 on the role that "Public Private Collaborations in Innovation" play in promoting innovations in research and development (R&D), assisting in brand promotion and the creative industries, and aiding in IP commercialisation. Various Members' national policies, initiatives and platforms were showcased, which provided food for thought for us on how governments, business, academia and other key stakeholders can come together to synergise and identify the best ways to ensure IP can benefit our citizens and the whole world at large. Singapore was happy to have contributed to these discussions in a substantive manner, and we are heartened to note that engagement on this topic was high throughout the year.
304. We would also like to thank Canada for submitting this discussion paper on "Making MSMEs Competitive Through Trademarks", which is the first in a series of discussion topics on how countries and government can support MSMEs via IP rights to make them competitive both in the domestic market and around the world. Canada's paper is useful in stimulating discussions on understanding the important role of trademarks for MSMEs in international trade, and how various Members have worked to socialise this among their domestic businesses and citizenry.
305. Allow me to share three key points underpinning Singapore's efforts to support and facilitate the efforts of MSMEs to make use of trademarks in a holistic and comprehensive manner.
306. First, the Singapore government takes proactive steps to help the private sector and entrepreneurs understand how to make use of IP rights in general, and trademarks in particular. One example is the Mark Your Trade programme. This was a pilot programme started in 2016 to reach out to budding local creators and entrepreneurs who had established a strong social media presence but had yet to protect their trademarks. To unlock the value of their brands, the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS) offered assistance on trademark registration, IP clinics and marketing opportunities to participating creators with the aim to heighten the importance of IP and branding for such small businesses. In recognition of their work, these creators and entrepreneurs were presented with trademark certificates on World IP Day on 26 April 2017 by our then-Senior Minister of State for Finance and Law, Ms Indranee Rajah, and efforts are continuing to ensure that as many small business and entrepreneurs benefit from this programme.
307. Second, the government is working continuously to take advantage of developing technologies to make conditions easier for MSMEs to register and make use of trademarks. As a case in point, companies looking to register their trademarks in Singapore can now file them directly with IPOS through the world's first trademark registration mobile application called IPOS Go. Speeding up the application process tremendously, it will take less than 10 minutes to apply for a trademark, down from the 45-minute to an hour-long average in Singapore. Notably, the application is an additional option for businesses to file trademarks, on top of other platforms available, such as IPOS' existing e-services website. Applicants can also track their registration status, be notified of updates or file for trademark renewals through the application. Applicants pay $240 as the filing fee to register a single trademark in any class in Singapore, and a registered trademark is valid indefinitely as long as companies renew their registrations every 10 years at a fee of $380 per class. I would like to highlight that the application also uses artificial intelligence (AI) to search for similar trademarks on the IPOS register and will stop applicants from filing for trademarks that are too similar to existing ones. This application has enhanced not only convenience and efficiency, but also utility and effectiveness for many small companies in making use of trademarks in their business.
308. Third, given that new business risks will emerge as more enterprises use innovation and digitalisation to grow and enter the volatile and unpredictable global markets, we provide a cushion to help ease the process. Through the Intellectual Property Insurance Initiative for Innovators (IPIII), which was rolled out in June 2019, innovative enterprises will be able to obtain insurance coverage for legal expenses that may be incurred in IP infringement proceedings worldwide. Under the IPIII, enterprises and innovators with a Singapore patent, trademark or registered design can take up an insurance policy with substantial cost savings that pays the legal costs of enforcing IP rights or defending against allegations of IP infringement, which can often be expensive and detrimental to business cash flows. The policy is underwritten by Antares Underwriting Asia, on behalf of Syndicate 1274 at Lloyd's of London. Insuring IP is still nascent to a market that has witnessed multi-million-dollar patent litigation and trade disputes over IP theft. The IPIII insurance initiative is timely in a global economy increasingly powered by the new currency of intangible assets.
309. This is an important issue which bears more focused discussions to share best practices, and we look forward to hearing from other Members on their national experiences.
