Singapore official set to head UN intellectual property agency says focus is on staying 'neutral'
The Singaporean set to head the United Nations agency overseeing intellectual property issues says his focus will be to "call out" unilateral behaviour as more countries display protectionist tendencies and the US-China feud deepens.
Daren Tang Heng Shim, 48, who was earlier this month appointed to the role after he beat China's Wang Binying in a vote, said the World Intellectual Property Organisation (Wipo) would continue to be "neutral and professional" in its efforts to safeguard global intellectual property and patents.
He rejected the suggestion that his appointment " something the United States had lobbied for to push back against China's efforts to gain influence in international bodies " would raise questions about his independence.
Daren Tang, who will be Wipo's next director general, speaks to the media at its Geneva headquarters in March. Photo: EPA-EFE alt=Daren Tang, who will be Wipo's next director general, speaks to the media at its Geneva headquarters in March. Photo: EPA-EFE
"The election results speak for themselves. It wasn't a candidacy that was backed by one part of the world or a region," Tang said, pointing to how the 55 votes he received against Wang's 28 came from a mix of developed and developing countries.
"We made it clear that we are going to bring that Singapore ability to build bridges and that's what's needed at Wipo," he told This Week in Asia in an interview.
"There is hunger in the world for unity."
Soon after the March vote, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo described the development as "another event [in which] our team here worked hard to ensure a good result for the American people".
In Singapore, there was a move to dispel the perception that Tang was Washington's proxy, with the respected ex-diplomat Tommy Koh writing on social media that such a notion was "wrong and mischievous".
"We are of course grateful to the US for its support but we are not a US proxy and not part of the US confrontation against China," ambassador-at-large Koh wrote on Facebook at the time.
The World Intellectual Property Organisation (Wipo) headquarters. Photo: Getty Images alt=The World Intellectual Property Organisation (Wipo) headquarters. Photo: Getty Images
Unlike other UN agencies, Wipo is funded by companies that pay about US$1,000 per claim to protect their corporate, scientific and quasi-military secrets. According to its February report, it has approximately 14 million active patents and 49.3 million trademarks as of 2018.
Intellectual property continues to be a flashpoint in the broad tussle between Washington and Beijing, with the US accusing China of theft and the latter rejecting such accusations.
Tang, the first Asian to lead Wipo, refused to be drawn into a discussion on the topic, pointing to how intellectual property was a pertinent issue for all countries.
Patent filings, for example, have grown by 72 per cent over the past decade, and trademarks have surged by 160 per cent, he said.
Today, six out of 10 IP applications originate from Asia, and six out of 10 research and development dollars are spent in Asia.
"What's happening is that innovation is no longer just happening in Europe or America, but it is also happening in Asia, Latin America and Africa, parts of the world that you normally will not associate with a big emphasis on innovation," he said.
Incoming Wipo head Daren Tang. Photo: EPA-EFE alt=Incoming Wipo head Daren Tang. Photo: EPA-EFE
Tang said he would push for multilateralism in several ways when he begins his job in Geneva in October. Besides ensuring that Wipo remains neutral, his aim is to negotiate treaties so that a common standard emerges.
A combined effort by nations would be a step in the right direction if the world wants to overcome common challenges such as climate change and the current Covid-19 pandemic, he said.
"You cannot solve these things just by having a unilateral approach. You really need to come together to overcome some of these things. That will be my approach and my way of bringing people together," he said.
The deadly coronavirus, which has to date infected close to 5 million people globally, has also brought about new challenges for Tang. He pointed to how the pandemic is no longer just a health care issue, but now involved technology, development, and financing. This means that Wipo will have to work with different UN agencies, including the World Health Organisation (WHO), in formulating its next steps.
The pandemic has also affected the ways in which artists and creatives interact with consumers, as well as changing the way people work, he said.
"What Wipo has to do is to make sure we are on top of the trends, watch these things, support them ... and coordinate actions," added Tang.
"We bring people together to talk and to find common solutions so we don't end up doing our own actions which results in a confused, mismatched reaction."
This article originally appeared on the South China Morning Post (SCMP).
Copyright (c) 2020. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.
