14 April 2014 – The Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) signed an MOU on 10 April in Geneva, Switzerland. Through the strategic partnership, the HKTDC and WIPO will jointly promote the trading of intellectual property via their respective online marketplaces, the Asia IP Exchange (AsiaIPEX) and WIPO Green. With the signing, WIPO Green becomes the 23rd partner of the HKTDC’s AsiaIPEX.
HKTDC Assistant Executive Director Raymond Yip and WIPO Deputy Director General Christian Wichard signed the agreement on behalf of their organisations at the WIPO headquarters in Geneva.
Also attending the ceremony were Wang Binying, Deputy Director General of WIPO, Antony Taubman, Director of the Intellectual Property Division of the World Trade Organization, and Chen Hongbing, Counsellor, Permanent Mission of the People's Republic of China to the United Nations Office at Geneva and other International Organizations in Switzerland.
Encouraging Collaboration
“Environmental protection is an issue of global concern,” said Mr Yip, at the signing ceremony. “A lot of green products and technologies that are applicable to our daily lives and adopted by the business sector depend on IP trading for their commercialisation.”
“This new partnership will give the hundreds of green technologies hosted on WIPO Green greater exposure in Asia and Hong Kong in particular, contributing technology transfer to this important region,” said Mr Wichard.
AsiaIPEX
Launched this past December, the AsiaIPEX now has users from more than 70 countries and regions, boasting a portfolio of over 25,000 tradable IP items, ranging from patents and copyrights to trademarks.
WIPO Green
Launched by WIPO last November, WIPO Green connects environmental technology and service suppliers and users. The platform, which cooperates with some 15 IP organisations around the world, offers green technology IP assets from a wide range of sectors, including carbon emissions, waste management, energy, agricultural and forestry.
Websites
Asia IP Exchange: http://www.asiaipex.com
WIPO Green: https://webaccess.wipo.int/green/
Media Enquiries
Please contact the HKTDC’s Corporate Communication Department:
Joe Kainz
Tel: (852) 2584 4216
Email: joe.kainz@hktdc.org