Over the course of the past few decades, Singapore has grown into one of Asia’s most vibrant economies, and much of the credit for the stupendous growth is down to the fact that the government does not indulge in bureaucratic delay when it comes to business deals. That has seen billion of dollars in investment flowing into the country over the course of the past decades, and it will continue in the same vein as long as the same principles are maintained. In a new development, it has emerged that the Chinese e-commerce and tech giant Alibaba has been granted an Artificial Intelligence (AI) by the concerned authorities in Singapore within a record time of 3 months. As it has now become well known, Alibaba is now no longer only an e-commerce company and has expanded into a range of business, including payments and tech in a big way. The patent was granted by the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS) under the provisions of its Accelerated Initiative for Artificial Intelligence (AI2) initiative. IPOS went on to state that usually; it takes around two to four years for granting such a patent. The larger point about such an accelerated grant is that it is a signal to tech giants as well as innovators in the rest of the world. It shows that innovators, startups and other tech giants can now bring in their AI related innovations to Singapore without fear of waiting years for a patent.

The European Patent Office (EPO) has seen a growing number of patent applications from Singapore and other parts of Asia, and is looking to bolster cooperation with the region. Dr Christoph Ernst, Vice President of the EPO, Directorate General Legal and International Affairs, said: “Asia is a major centre of innovation worldwide and there is a rapidly growing number of patents from this region. It has become evident that the EOP has been receiving a rapidly growing number of patent applications from this (Asian) region.”

An artificial intelligence system should be recognised as the inventor of two ideas in patents filed on its behalf, a team of academics says.

The AI has designed interlocking food containers that are easy for robots to grasp and a warning light that flashes in a rhythm that is hard to ignore.

Patents offices insist innovations are attributed to humans - to avoid legal complications that would arise if corporate inventorship were recognised.

The academics say this is "outdated".

And it could see patent offices refusing to assign any intellectual property rights for AI-generated creations.

As a result, two professors from the University of Surrey have teamed up with the Missouri-based inventor of Dabus AI to file patents in the system's name with the relevant authorities in the UK, Europe and US.

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An academic study on artificial intelligence (AI) inventorship is now available for download.

The study was prepared by Dr. Noam Shemtov of Queen Mary University of London and analyses the impact of AI technology on the concept of inventorship. To download the study and for more information on patenting AI-related inventions please visit the dedicated webpage.

Huawei's Chief Legal Officer Song Liuping speaks at a press conference at the company's headquarters in Shenzhen in southern China's Guangdong province.

Chinese tech giant Huawei has warned a U.S. proposal to block the company from pursuing damages in the country's patent courts would be a "catastrophe for global innovation."

The proposal comes amid mounting U.S. action against Huawei, the biggest maker of switching gear for phone carriers. The company has been devastated by the Trump administration's decision to impose restrictions on its access to American chips for smartphones and other components and technology.

Read more : Barchart.com

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that apply for patents, trade marks or designs have a greater chance of experiencing high growth than those that do not according to a new study released by the EPO and the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO). SMEs represent 99% of all businesses in the European Union, and contribute 57% of the EU's gross domestic product. However, a large proportion of the value generated by SMEs comes from a small number of high-growth firms (HGFs), which are often very innovative. The study shows that SMEs that have filed at least one IP right are 21% more likely to experience a growth period afterwards and are 10% more likely to become an HGF than firms without IP rights applications. SMEs that file for IP rights at European level have an even greater likelihood (17%) of becoming an HGF.

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The latest patent of Honda relates to a bike that supports variable riding position. This patent relates to a bike that can convert from a sports bike with a crouched riding position to a street bike with an upright position.