IPOS Appoints NEC to Develop a One-Stop IT System for All Registrable Intellectual Property in Singapore

SINGAPORE, 9 September 2010 – The Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS) announced today that NEC Asia Pacific ("NEC") has been appointed to design and develop a one-stop IT system for all registrable IP in Singapore. Under this new system, the three domains of patent, trademark and design will be integrated into a common IT platform.

The intent of this new Registries IT system is to have a shared customer database so that the same customer who owns more than one type of IP can have a single view and similar user experience.  Such one-stop IT platform is not a common feature of IP Registries around the world.

This new Registries IT system is expected to be ready by end of 2012.  It will result in a more streamlined, expedient and cost-effective IP registration process that would be beneficial to both IPOS’ internal and external stakeholders.

Besides designing and developing the Registries IT system, NEC will also support and maintain the registries system hosted at the Government Data Centre over a period of three years.

Ms Liew Woon Yin, Director-General, IPOS, “The new IT Registries system is part of IPOS’ continual efforts to deliver better service to its customers.  IPOS' Registry operations have developed over time from a manual, paper-based system, to harnessing IT for backend processing work, to providing online Internet e-services for our customers.  We now have the opportunity to leverage technological advances to deliver more value to our customers.  By refining our processes and building a common IT platform, we will streamline our operations for further ease of use as well as present a more uniform and consistent user experience.  We look forward to partnering NEC in this journey.”

Mr Kiyofumi Kusaka, CEO, NEC Asia Pacific commented, “NEC has always emphasized on creating innovative technologies and solutions for our customers. Having worked with IPOS over the last 10 years, we understand their business requirements and are delighted to be awarded this project - to create an Intellectual Property registries system where users can benefit from the convenience of a common interface platform.”

About IPOS
The Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS), a statutory board under the Ministry of Law since April 2001, is the lead government agency that advises on and administers intellectual property (IP) laws, promotes IP awareness and provides the infrastructure to facilitate the development of IP in Singapore. With IP fast becoming a critical resource in today’s new economy, IPOS’ vision is to foster a creative Singapore where ideas and intellectual efforts are valued, developed and exploited. More information on IPOS can be found on www.ipos.gov.sg.

About NEC Corporation
NEC Corporation is a leader in the integration of IT and network technologies that benefit businesses and people around the world. By providing a combination of products and solutions that cross utilize the company’s experience and global resources, NEC’s advanced technologies meet the complex and ever-changing needs of its customers. NEC brings more than 100 years of expertise in technological innovation to empower people, businesses and society.  For more information, visit NEC at http://www.nec.com.

About NEC Asia Pacific Pte Ltd
NEC Asia Pacific, a wholly owned subsidiary of NEC Corporation (HQ: Japan) based in Singapore, is NEC’s regional headquarters for Asia Pacific, providing regional sales and services support and consultancy for world-class identity solutions, enterprise turnkey implementation of mission-critical systems, project management, business process outsourcing and maintenance services in South and Southeast Asia, and Oceania.

NEC provides an extensive portfolio of solutions and services integrating the best-of-breed technologies available for the government, financial, retail and hospitality, telecommunications, manufacturing and other business verticals. Being a leading global technology provider and systems integrator, NEC creates solutions on global identity, RFID, enterprise server, unified communications and multimedia display, which are supported by NECare Service Centres.

In line with the NEC Group Vision to realize an information society friendly to humans and the earth, NEC also embarks on corporate social responsibilities (CSR) initiatives to support and “make a difference” to the Nature (environment), Education and Community. For more information, please visit www.nec.com.sg.

NEC is a registered trademark of NEC Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Other product or service marks mentioned herein are the trademarks of their respective owners. ©2010 NEC Corporation.

Press Contact at IPOS:
Ms Stephanie Leong
DID : +65 6331 6574
Email : Stephanie_Leong@IPOS.gov.sg

Press Contacts at NEC Asia Pacific:
Ms Masako Hirano
DID : +65 6379 2570
Mobile : +65 9018 6652
Email : M-Hirano@NEC.com.sg

Ms Eliza Lim
DID : +65 6379 2571
Mobile : +65 9615 7590
Email : Eliza_lim@NEC.com.sg