S'pore aims to be Asia's patent hub

OVER the past few years, Singapore has positioned itself as a significant player in the global intellectual property (IP) marketplace and has been developing the infrastructure and human capital to establish itself as an IP hub for Asia.

And this has been noticed - international rankings by the World Economic Forum and Political and Economic Risk Consultancy have consistently listed Singapore top of the class in Asia for a robust IP regime.

Singapore's patent system has been ranked among the top four in the world for its strength and rigour, according to a new composite index devised by leading researchers in IP. Countries at the top include New Zealand in the first place, while Denmark and Finland were tied in the second. Sweden came in third, and Norway and Singapore shared the fourth spot.