IP Management

IP Management For Small And Medium-Sized Enterprises Program In Singapore

Singapore prides itself with strong intellectual property (IP) protection as it continues to be a top spot for commercialization of ideas and innovations. Because of its commitment to protect the rights of the creators of IP objects, it has developed IP Management Program with the Standards, Productivity and Innovation Board (SPRING), a statutory board under the Ministry of Trade and Industry of Singapore.

IP Management for SMEs provides small and medium-sized enterprises based in Singapore consultancy advice and funding support for SMEs to develop and protect their own intellectual property. It helps companies manage their entire IP life cycle, from the IP’s creation, ownership, and protection to its commercial exploitation.

Companies are qualified for the program if their business is considered as an SME, meaning it is registered in Singapore, at least thirty percent of shareholding is local, and it either has no more than two hundred employees or its annual sales turnover is not more than SGD100 million.

Benefits Of The IP Management Program

The program is designed to help SMEs use intellectual property to thrive and grow in the industry. It teaches businesses how to create, own, protect and commercialize their IP.

It has two phases, the first of which uses SCOPE IP, a diagnostic tool developed by the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS) to examine the process in eight areas of assessment. The SCOPE IP helps businesses assess the strengths and weaknesses of their IP deployment and IPM system.

The second phase allows SMEs to improve their IP strategy and systems based on the strengths and weaknesses identified in Phase 1. They can implement the recommendations by embarking on IPM capability development projects. It is also during the second phase that SMEs will receive support for the qualifying costs, which include manpower, equipment and materials, consultancy, and acquisition of IP rights.

The IP management grant, up to fifty percent of the consultancy fees in Phase 1 and up to fifty percent of the qualifying costs of implementation projects in Phase 2, is given on a reimbursement basis.