Singapore embarked on an ambitious project entitled the Singapore Green Plan 2030 with the aim of advancing an aggressive sustainable development agenda. Our first speaker will describe the programme and speak to the technologies that are being incorporated into Singapore’s municipal infrastructure to achieve the desired goals.
While municipalities may develop and formalize plans and programmes to meet sustainability goals, there remains the issue of identifying new technologies that can meet such needs. One of the challenges in developing such new technologies is lack of funding, particularly for SMEs, particularly given the lack of certainty that their efforts will be adopted by public sector entities.
Our other speakers will discuss recent programs that their respective countries have implemented to incentivise the development of needed innovations in this sector.
Once new intellectual property has been developed, arrangements must then be made for such IP to be put into use by governments. The licensing of IP to public sector entities must be considered carefully to ensure that the both the licensor and licensee are equitably treated, particularly given the long-term nature of the arrangements. Our speakers will discuss such license arrangements and provide insights into strategies that IP holders can use.
The patenting of technologies often requires a considerable amount of time and effort in advancing applications through the respective IP offices. However, some jurisdictions have recognized that early adoption of new “green tech” innovations is often contingent on the IP owner securing the required protections. Consequently, various IP offices have implemented programs to accelerate the protection of green tech IP. Our speakers will discuss examples of such programs and compare regional approaches.
