Hong Kong Hosts Dual IP and Entrepreneurship Events to Drive Innovation and Business Growth

The 15th Business of IP Asia Forum and 17th HKTDC Entrepreneur Day will convene from December 4 to 5 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, bringing together innovators, investors, professionals, and policymakers worldwide. These co-organized events by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council and Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government seek to foster cross-sector collaboration while reinforcing Hong Kong's role as a regional intellectual property trading center and international innovation hub. Patrick Lau, HKTDC Deputy Executive Director, emphasized Hong Kong's ideal positioning for IP trading due to its sound legal system, deep capital markets, and robust IP protection regime.

This year's BIP Asia Forum adopts the theme "Leverage IP to Finance Business Growth" with over 100 speakers exploring IP's potential for corporate development and financing. The opening ceremony will be officiated by Sophia Chong, HKTDC Executive Director, and David Wong, Director of Intellectual Property for the HKSAR Government. A keynote session on "IP Valuation and Financing" will examine how intellectual property can be converted into viable capital sources, featuring speakers from the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, Hong Kong Association of Banks, and international financial institutions. The Global Tech Summit session "Unlocking Value: Intellectual Property and Investment Opportunities in AI Innovations" will feature investors from Hong Kong Investment Corporation Limited, Alibaba Hong Kong Entrepreneurs Fund, Google Cloud, and major investment firms discussing AI investment trends and IP landscape evolution.

Diverse thematic sessions will address multiple innovation dimensions. The plenary session "Propelling Sustainability with IP" focuses on IP's strategic role in accelerating sustainability and elevating industry standards, featuring speakers from GE Aerospace, Maersk, and University of Exeter Business School. The breakout session "Opportunities and Risks of Data Licensing" will address data copyrights, privacy compliance, and cross-border data flows with participants from Penn State Dickinson Law and HUAWEI Technologies. The "IP Economy" session highlights how brands leverage online-to-offline IP strategies to boost revenue and expand customer reach, featuring case studies from Libertas Brands and Ocean Park. Additional sessions include "IP-driven Transformation of Hong Kong Brands" examining local business model transformations and an ASEAN Session co-organized with the ASEAN Secretariat focusing on patent commercialisation and technology transfer between ASEAN economies and Hong Kong.

Concurrently, Entrepreneur Day continues under the theme "Where Start-up Dreams Take Flight," featuring over 350 start-ups, innovation projects, and support organizations across six technology verticals: Artificial Intelligence, Health Tech, Cyber Security, Construction and Logistics, Spatial Computing and Sustainability. The Digital Policy Office will showcase 30 award-winning projects from the Hong Kong ICT Awards at the Innovation Hong Kong Pavilion, while the Home and Youth Affairs Bureau pavilion features over 40 start-ups supported by the HYAB Funding Scheme for Youth Entrepreneurship in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. The event includes seminar programs covering inspirational masterclasses, start-up fundamentals, emerging opportunities, and global technology trends. A dedicated roundtable "Empowering GBA Startups to Expand into ASEAN with Hong Kong as a Super-connector and Super Value-adder" will analyze how Hong Kong's financial strength and legal expertise can facilitate cross-border innovation collaboration. The Start-up Express International program returns with 10 selected overseas start-ups presenting their entrepreneurial journeys and establishing presence in Hong Kong as a springboard to regional markets. More information about these events can be found at https://bipasia.hktdc.com/en/, https://portal.hktdc.com/eday/en, and https://portal.hktdc.com/startupexpress/en/s/start-up-express-international.