Speech by Minister for Foreign Affairs and Law, Mr K Shanmugam, at The Originals Get Reel Contest - Trailer Launch Event

12 Jan 2012 Posted in Speeches

Mr Quek Tong Boon, Chairman of IPOS,
Mr Tan Yih San, Chief Executive of IPOS,
Distinguished guests,
Ladies and gentlemen,

1. Good evening. I am happy to be here to celebrate the official launch of the winning trailer for The Originals Get Reel Contest. Organised by the Honour Intellectual Property (or HIP) Alliance, a flagship public outreach initiative spearheaded by the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS ), the contest marks a collaborative effort amongst the private and public sectors to raise awareness and respect for Intellectual Property (IP).

1. A Robust IP Regime for a Creative Economy

2. A robust IP environment is critical to propel the growth of countries like Singapore. In 2010, the local creative industries have contributed a total of just under $12 billion in value-add to Singapore’s economy, up from $3 billion 10 years ago. The digital media sector, in particular, has been growing at 25 per cent a year since 2005. In recent years, locally produced creative content has made significant inroads into the global market. For instance, “My Magic” was the first Singapore film to be nominated for the prestigious Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival. Almost half of Lucasfilm Singapore’s workforce is local, and they make a significant contribution to the production of blockbuster movies such as “Transformers 3: Dark of the Moon”, “Star Trek” and “Iron Man”. A world leader in game development education, DigiPen Institute of Technology, has also set up its first international campus in Singapore to groom creative talents in digital interactive media.

3. In order for these engines of growth to manifest their full potential, an environment conducive to the protection of creative content is necessary. In 2011, Singapore was ranked second in the world in IP protection in the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report and top in Asia in the 2010 Political & Economic Risk Consultancy Report. Our regime for IP protection is aimed at making sure that it is effective, is well regarded internationally, but locally, we continue to encourage a widespread respect for intellectual property. That does not mean we have taken care of all problems. I know, for example, MPA has issues with the actual level of IP protection in Singapore. We take it as a process that we work onand we will try and make sure that our processes are as good as any in the world.

2. Respect for IP as our Way of Life

4. When we respect IP, this helps to ensure that inventors or creators, many of whom are our own Singaporeans, are rewarded for their work and are inspired to create more things for all of us to enjoy. Without IP protection and reward, there would be little incentive to continue to break new ground or develop new products and services. It is therefore important for all of us to play our part to respect and protect IP.

5. I am therefore happy to be here this evening to launch this winning trailer. This contest is a meaningful initiative as it presents a valuable opportunity for youths to not only create their own IP, but also showcase their trailer in cinemas across Singapore. With the support of our cinema exhibitors, the trailers will garner more than 19 million views in a year, and will go a long way in shaping Singaporeans’ mindsets about respecting IP.

6. This year’s contest saw the participation of more than 180 young people, double from the inaugural contest held in 2009. They got their hands dirty, and unleashed their creativity to produce trailers. To enhance their experience, workshops on copyright and film production were conducted to help the participants to bring their creative concepts to life. From passive IP consumers, the participants became active IP producers.

7. We would like to commend all the participants for the hard work and passion that they have put in. The quality of the submissions shows the immense talent our young people possess. As you continue to exercise your creative talent, I hope you will treasure the values of IP ownership and respect, and live them out in your everyday lives. More importantly, we hope you will be our ambassadors to spread the values of respecting IP to everyone around you.

3. Appreciation to HIP Partners

8. IPOS' public outreach efforts would not have been possible without the unwavering support from our stakeholders. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the support that we received from the following partners:
   • Motion Picture Association (MPA),
   • Adobe Systems,
   • Symantec,
   • Lee Foundation,
   • United International Pictures (UIP), and
   • Local cinema exhibitors including Golden Village, Shaw Theatres, Cathay Cineplexes, Film Garde and WE Cinemas.

9. This evening, IPOS will also be holding its first appreciation ceremony to recognise key partners who have contributed substantively to IP promotion and education. Public IP education will be a long term effort, as changing mindsets and attitudes take time. We are committed to continuing such efforts, and we look forward to collaborating with more like-minded partners in the years ahead.

10. In closing, I would like to congratulate the winning teams and all participants for their work. I hope that all of you will have an enjoyable.

11. Thank you.

Last updated on 25 Nov 2012