Overwhelming response and insightful discussions kicks off the Scaled-Up WIPO IP Management Clinic in Bangkok

A workshop was convened on September 4, 2024 in Bangkok, Thailand, by the WIPO Singapore Office (WSO) and the IP for Business Division, WIPO, to launch the above program with the valuable assistance from the Japan Patent Office (JPO). Among the collaborative stakeholders for this event were the Department of Intellectual Property (DIP), Ministry of Commerce, Thailand and the Federation of Thai Industries. The successful workshop kicked-off the IP Management Clinic which was held from September 5-11, providing support to over 50 companies.

As we move towards a fast-paced, competitive and globalized market, the need for adequate and appropriate management of intellectual property (IP) and intangible assets has become more crucial than ever. Business need to safeguard their innovations and maximize their potential for business growth. The scaled-up IP Management Clinic (IPMC) program in Bangkok provides free advisory to the companies in Thailand to enhance their understanding, utilization and leverage of the IP systems so as to better develop and navigate their IP strategies to support their business visions and goals in both the domestic and external markets.

The food and beverage (F&B) and wellness industries have been chosen to be the sector focus for this IPMC, Thailand. With strong resilience growth and a F&B market projected to reach USD 47.79 billion in 2029, as well as a wellness economy that contributes nearly 10% to the country’s GDP, both sectors prove to be pivotal and significant in the Thailand’s development and economy.

The event saw an overwhelming response of more 100 participants from close to 70 companies. Besides the F&B and wellness sectors, the participants also came from a range of industries such as Internet-of-things (IoT), biotechnology, engineering etc.

Opening remarks were delivered by Ms. Bonggotmas Hongthong, Trade Officer, Department of Intellectual Property, Ministry of Commerce, Thailand, Mr. Numchai Ekpatanaparnich, Member of the Board and Board of Executive Directors, Deputy Secretary General, Member of Law Committee, Federation of Thai Industries, Ms. Sachiyo YOSHINO, Director of the International Cooperation Division at the Japan Patent Office, and Ms. Thitapha Wattanapruttipaisan, Director, World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), Singapore office, Singapore. They emphasized the need for businesses to leverage on their IPs for business growth. This can be facilitated and achieved by formulating strong IP management strategies to protect their competitive edge and to enhance the value of their IP for either effective commercialisation or to attract investments.

The event continued with several engaging panels. One of which was moderated by Ms Esther Loh, Counsellor, WIPO Singapore Office, with Ms Silvija Trpkovska, Counsellor, IP for Business Division (IPBD), IP and Innovation Ecosystems Sector, WIPO, Geneva Mr Fu Zhikang, Director & Senior IP Strategist, IPOS International, Singapore, Mr Dixon Soh, Director, Head of Intellectual Property and Intangible Assets Practice, CHP Law LLC, Singapore, was the discussion on how to navigate common IP challenges, in particular in the food and beverage and wellness industries. Different perspectives were shared from private sector, public sector and from the European market. The takeaway message from the panel was that reputation is key. Consumers look for new trustworthy brands and reputation is kept safe through registered intellectual property.

The next panel started with an insightful presentation by Clarivate, Mr Stone Wang, where he shared how IP intelligence and patent data can be used be to track emerging opportunities, uncover areas of investment, identify areas of improvements and pinpoint risks in advance. This was next followed by a panel discussion where personal experiences were shared on how failure to have an IP management process in place resulted in a financial and positioning loss in the market.

Besides the panel discussion, presentations on specific IP topic were also presented by Mr Dixon Soh, Mr Raj Mannar and Mr Trai Sasatavadhana. The presentation stirred interest among the participants in structuring pitches to investors and the legal considerations companies need to consider.

The event ended off with Mr Dixon Soh’s (the lead IP expert) engaging presentation on how IP and Business interact with each other and how an IP strategy should be built.

In the following five days, the participants went on to embark on one-on-one mentoring sessions with the IP experts to learn and understand how their IP assets could enhance the value of their business and how important it is to have a robust IP strategy which is aligned to their business strategy.

The companies who had queries on IP registration also received advice on IP process and registration from the local staff from Department of Intellectual Property (DIP) Thailand.

Together with the experts, the companies had a comprehensive range of advisory catering to different stages and needs of the companies as well as their business models, pain points and their short- and long-term goals.

In the coming four months, these companies will continue to benefit from online mentorship under the supervision of the IP experts. WIPO will continue to provide a supportive environment for these companies, and we look forward to witnessing their progress in their IP journey.