Pokémon Go’s Success in Hong Kong Likely to Spur More AR and VR Investment

Pokémon Go launched in Hong Kong on July 25, the second territory in Asia to see the official launch of the game after Japan on July 22. Hours after the game was released, the application became the number one app download, according to Hong Kong’s Apple Daily.

The paper reported that some companies in the territory banned staff from using it at work, while others let their staff off early to let them play the game.

Although the game makes limited use of augmented reality (AR) technology, its success is likely reassuring to investors in the VR and AR sector. Hong Kong business tycoon Li Ka-shing’s investment consortium, Horizons Ventures, was one of the main investors behind AR company US-based AR firm Meta’s US$2.3 million first round of fundraising back in 2015. A second round of fundraising in the first half saw investments from Chinese tech giants like Lenovo and Tencent.

Chief product officer at Meta, Soren Harner, was previously cited by wearable tech magazine Wareable as stating that Pokémon Go could be improved with a headset, although this would limit the game from being played outdoors.

Horizon Ventures has also been seeking out other potential investments in the VR and AR sectors, including an investment in VR/AR surround-sound audio firm Ambidio, a US-based company founded by Iris Wu, a Taiwanese business person, at the start of this year.

Fans waiting for the game to go live in Taiwan may face disappointment, as Taiwanese patent lawyer Wang Hsin, claims that the game infringes his invention patent (I300720), with the rather vague title “ONLINE GAME IN REAL WORLD”, which was granted in 2008, according to Taiwan’s Business Weekly. Wang has already filed suit against Niantic, the firm behind the game and he said that the case will be heard by Taiwan’s Intellectual Property Court in August. Wang states that he first tried to negotiate with the company, but sought compensation of NT$100 million (US$3.1 million), despite the game being free to use.

WIPO and Gulf Cooperation Council Attend ‘Belt and Road’ IP Roundtable in Beijing

Members of the World Property Organization and the Gulf Cooperation Council were present as observers at an IP roundtable during a two day conference from July 21-22, centered around China’s Silk Road Economic Belt and 21st Century Maritime Silk Road Initiative (Belt and Road Initiative) bringing together Chinese IP officials and the IP heads of the various countries that lie along the path of the initiative, according to the country’s State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO).

The initiative has been largely seen as an attempt by China to sidestep US control of major overland and oversea trade routes between Europe and China.

Six initiatives were announced at the closed-session roundtable to promote “enhanced dialogue and cooperation in the IP field”, including cooperation in IP law, strategy and institutions, support for the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) countries in providing efficient and cost-effective IP services and capacity for users, support for innovation and the monetization of technology, support for IP public awareness and educational campaigns and business consultation, support for human resources development and training for professionals in the IP sector and enhanced data sharing and exchange between the various BRI countries.

China IP News also reported that SIPO head Shen Changyu held bilateral meetings with the heads of the intellectual property offices of Pakistan, Moldova, Latvia and Lithuania. IP representatives from Cambodia, Sri Lanka and Poland were also reported to be present at the event, according to the China Daily.

Former Taiwan IP head Wang Mei-hua Promoted to Vice Minister of Economic Affairs

Wang Mei-hua, formerly the director of the Taiwan Intellectual Property Office (TIPO), took office as the vice-minister of economic affairs on July 1. She is the first female vice minister of economic affairs in charge of daily operations and the first director of TIPO to be promoted to a vice-ministerial position, according to Taipei-based United Daily News. Wang has taken charge of the Bureau of Foreign Trade and TIPO, and is set to lead Taiwan in its attempt to accede to the Trans-Pacific Partnership, according to the paper.

Prior to May 20, the three vice ministers for economic affairs were colloquially referred to as the “three generals”: vice minister in charge of administrative affairs Chuo Shih-chao and vice ministers in charge of daily affairs Shen Jung-chin and Yang Wei-fu. Chuo stepped down along with former minister John Deng when newly inaugurated president Tsai Ing-wen took office in May, Shen Jung-chin then became vice minister for administrative affairs, while the third vice-ministerial position went vacant.

The cabinet of Premier Lin Chuan has previously been criticized for its low proportion of women when compared to that of former premier Chiang Yi-huah.

Wang has made several appearances since her appointment, including a forum on upcoming FinTech trends and challenges on July 22, a conference on best practices for stemming digital piracy on July 26, followed by a ceremony in advance of the launch of three Taiwan Product Center in cities in India on the same day.

The deputy director of TIPO, Hong Shu-min, is currently heading up TIPO as acting director general until a replacement is officially appointed.

First Bank ATM Theft Raises FinTech Security Concerns

After an ATM run by Taiwan's First Bank was robbed by an Eastern Europeans, the heads of several banks in the country have expressed concerns about security measures for FinTech technology, according to New York-based NTD TV. The chair of Taichung Commercial Bank Li Chun-sheng, the CEO of Cathay Financial Holdings Li Chang-keng and the chair of Fubon Financial Holdings Tsai Ming-chung have all expressed concerns about increasing data security in the FinTech era, according to the station.

Taichung Commercial Bank chair Li Chun-sheng stated, “This incident serves as a big warning for us, so with data security, whether it involves ATMs or other smart technology, we have to be really careful about data security, so we can take this as reference.”

Taichung Commercial Bank uses a different model of ATM, and so was not affected by the security issue, but the hack led to several similar ATMs suffering issues.

The Taiwan CEO of DBS Bank Chen Liang-cheng was cited as stating his surprise that this kind of scheme could happen in Taiwan.

NT$83 million (US$2.6 million) was stolen from various ATMs on July 9-10 believed to be infected with malware.

Taiwan IC Wafer Testing Firms Ardentec and Giga Solution Tech Form Strategic Alliance

On July 22 Taiwanese IC wafer testing company Ardentec Corporation announced that it has formed a strategic alliance with fellow testing company Giga Solution Tech Company and will acquire a 75% share in the latter for NT$24 (US$0.75) per share, for a total of NT$2.2 billion (US$68 million), according to Taipei-based Economic Daily News.

Ardentec chair Lu Chi-yuan was cited by the paper as stating that both companies would continue to work in the Internet of Things (IoT) field. On the same day Ardentec also announced that it would acquire packaging firm RayTek Semiconductor Inc., which was just founded in just April of this year, for a price of NT$12 (US$0.37) per share and for a total of NT$350 million (US$10.9 million).

The news was announced at a press conference on the evening of July 22 and attended by the chairs of the two companies, Ardentec chair Lu Chi-yuan and Giga Solution Tech chair Hu Ting-hua.

The 6th Japan-ASEAN Heads of IP Offices Meeting Held in July

The Japan Patent Office (JPO) reported that on July 19th, the intellectual property heads from each of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the head of the Japan Patent Office met in Bali, Indonesia, to discuss cooperation for the fiscal year 2016. Issues tabled at the meeting included support from the JPO for the drafting or redrafting of examination guidelines and for the construction of IP infrastructure in ASEAN countries, including in HR development and accession to international treaties.

The new commissioner of the JPO, Yoshinori Komiya, who was appointed on June 17, also held bilateral meetings with the IP representatives from the ASEAN nations Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, and Singapore.

The bilateral talks featured an agreement to exchange patent data with Indonesia and various cooperative initiatives with Myanmar for the fiscal year 2016.

Commissioner Komiya also delivered the opening remarks at an IP forum hosted in Jakarta.

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