IP attaché appointed to support UK businesses in Southeast Asian countries
The UK’s fourth Intellectual Property attaché has been appointed to support UK British businesses in Southeast Asian countries.
The UK’s fourth Intellectual Property (IP) attaché has been appointed to support UK British businesses across the 10 countries making up the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
Ms TAN Shin Yuan will work with representatives from UK Trade & Investment and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office across the region to help British businesses working there to make the most of business opportunities. Her position is central to the government’s plans to enhance trade relations and to support IP and innovation-led businesses abroad.
Minister for Intellectual Property Lord Younger said:
British businesses are already taking advantage of opportunities in Southeast Asia, exports last year were worth £8bn to our economy. I very much welcome the appointment of TAN Shin Yuan to cover this vital market - expected to become the world’s fourth largest by 2030.
TAN Shin Yuan has considerable relevant experience in this area including giving legal advice on IP to manufacturing and technology commercialisation companies, making her ideal for this role.
TAN Shin Yuan said:
I am delighted to be appointed to cover the ASEAN region and look forward to strengthening bilateral relationships with ASEAN governments and working closely with them on IP issues. I also look forward to making a positive impact for UK businesses operating in, or looking for a way to enter the ASEAN market.
In previous roles, TAN Shin Yuan has handled IP management for clients, advising licensing counterparts, potential start-ups, inventors and management. TAN Shin Yuan’s qualifications including her Master of Law in IP from the University of Edinburgh and the specialist hands-on experience she brings makes her ideal for the market she will cover.
The 10 ASEAN countries currently have a combined population of about 600 million and a GDP similar to that of the UK. The Asia Development Bank predicts the middle class in ASEAN will rise from 24% of the total population in 2010 to 65% by 2030. This is therefore a high growth region with significant potential for UK businesses looking to expand.
Notes to Editors
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The Intellectual Property Office (IPO) is within the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) and is responsible for the national framework of Intellectual Property rights, comprising patents, designs, trade marks and copyright.
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The IPO’s role is to help manage an IP system that encourages innovation and creativity, balances the needs of consumers and users, promotes strong and competitive markets and is the foundation of the knowledge-based economy.
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The IPO operates in a national and an international environment and its work is governed by national and international law, including various international treaties relating to Intellectual Property (IP) to which the United Kingdom is a party.
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TAN Shin Yuan is the fourth senior intellectual property liaison officer (‘attaché’) to be appointed by the IPO. Tom Duke, appointed in December 2011 is based in China, Anshika Jha appointed in May 2012 is based in India and Sheila Alves, appointed in August 2012 is based in Brazil.
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ASEAN is an intergovernmental association. It was formed in 1967 by Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. The association has since expanded to include Brunei, Burma, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam.
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For media queries, please contact Veena Mapara on 0207 215 5614. For emergency media calls out-of-hours please contact the duty press officer at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills on +44 (0) 207 215 3505.
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The government’s economic policy objective is to achieve ‘strong, sustainable and balanced growth that is more evenly shared across the country and between industries’. It set four ambitions in the ‘Plan for Growth’ (PDF 1.7MB), published at Budget 2011:
- to create the most competitive tax system in the G20
- to make the UK the best place in Europe to start, finance and grow a business
- to encourage investment and exports as a route to a more balanced economy
- to create a more educated workforce that is the most flexible in Europe
Work is underway across government to achieve these ambitions, including progress on more than 250 measures as part of the Growth Review. Developing an Industrial Strategy gives new impetus to this work by providing businesses, investors and the public with more clarity about the long-term direction in which the government wants the economy to travel.