70% Government Support for Local Companies to Acquire International IP Assets through the Enterprise Singapore Market Readiness Assistance Grant

Total Addressable Market

As the dust settles, and Singapore returns to some semblance of normalcy (circa 2019), it is only apt that we “change gears… [and] generate new growth, new jobs, and prosperity for the future”. These were the few salient points articulated by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong (“PM Lee”) during his National Day Rally 2021 speech on 29 August.

Citing trailblazing home-grown brands like Secretlab® and Carousell®, PM Lee remarked that our little red dot has become an entrepreneurial force to be reckoned with. This inspires us to be more confident in delivering quality products and services, worthy of the global market - in the words of PM Lee, “go out into the world, seize new opportunities and grow their business”.

Another notable example referred to by PM Lee was Yvon Bock, founder of Hegen®. Yvon saw COVID-19 as an opportunity to shift her main retail channel of selling baby-feeding bottles and equipment from physical stores to online platforms. Through this, she not only overcame the limited addressable local market, but also created global presence for a home-grown brand.

The Market Readiness Assistance Grant

Our mission at That.Legal is to help Singaporean brands increase their total addressable market size by securing their Intellectual Property (“IP”) and other Intangible Assets (“IAs”) not just in Singapore, but also in overseas markets, so that our home-grown products and services may secure their market access on the world stage.

Eligible Singaporean companies may apply for the Market Readiness Assistance Grant (“MRA Grant”) which is administered by Enterprise Singapore (commonly known as “ESG”). Here’s are 5 short points to take note of:

  1. for a limited period only till 31st March 2023,

  2. all eligible Singaporean[1] small and medium enterprises (“SMEs”)[2] may apply for an

  3. up to 70% subsidy for supportable market set up activities,

  4. which include, costs relating to securing the SME’s overseas IP Rights,

  5. up to a limit of $30,000 per New Market[3].

The MRA Grant offers Singaporean SMEs the opportunity to expand and build their international IP footprint. Successful applicants will enjoy government funding which will assist them in securing overseas market access and procuring a valuable intangible asset in the form of international IP rights.

Protecting your brand is crucial in an increasingly globalised and digitised world, accelerated further by the pandemic. Given Singapore’s limited market size, the case for going international could not be any stronger. Products can move across borders at the click of a button – but so do ideas. An oversight in failing to register your trade mark could result in the loss of a key market, or could result in having to expend significant capital to reclaim it:   https://www.that.legal/blog/2021/6/27/that-story-of-wang-lei-and-an-enterprising-trade-mark-squatter.

Registering a trade mark acts as an insurance policy. Successful registration protects your investments in your brand value. It typically costs a fraction of your brand value to apply for a trade mark – and now, with the MRA Grant, it costs even less. Read more on why protecting your trade mark is so important at  https://www.that.legal/blog/3-key-reasons-to-register-your-trade-mark.

Our Bespoke Services

As specialists of over 20 years in the protection and commercialisation of intangible assets (“IAs”), we are delighted to share that supportable activities under the MRA Grant include all professional fees and official fees for:

  1. International IP Searches (e.g. trade mark searches);

  2. International IP Applications (e.g. trade mark applications or patent applications including all overseas registration fees);

  3. Legal Documentation Costs (pertaining to overseas licensing, distribution, franchising or joint-venture agreements); and

  4. Our bespoke and strategic legal advice pertaining to the above.

Since the inception of this latest, and perhaps the most aggressive, version of the MRA Grant in March 2021, we have assisted our clients in making more than 60 applications. There will be stories to follow, so watch this space and follow us on social media.

From a startup mother and baby skincare brand to enterprising digital technology enterprises and one of the most established tea brands in Singapore, we are specialised in assisting clients with IP matters across a multitude of industries.

If you are a startup or SME that is interested in finding out more about how to leverage on the MRA Grant to secure your potential overseas markets, secure a complimentary 1-hour consult with our Executive Director, Mark Teng (profile) and #LetsTalkAboutYourChallenge.

Testimonials:

That.Legal impressed me with their tactical international trade marks strategy. If you intend to sell a made-in-Singapore product internationally, I highly recommend that you talk to them first.

Rehan Amaras, Director, The 1872 Clipper Tea Co.®

That.Legal has guided our events-tech startup through a seamless journey and helped to cover our blind spots in taking our brand overseas. We are leveraging on the Enterprise Singapore’s Market Readiness Assistance Grant to plant our flag in overseas markets of interest - a big step towards representing Singapore on the world stage as a global brand.

Jason Chee, Founder, FrontHAUS®

That.Legal understands the commercial heartbeat of our mother and baby skincare brand, which is to empower women in their fulfilling journey of motherhood. They made technical legal issues so much easier for us and helped us find the right amount of IP protection within our budget to secure market access beyond our shores.

Jingyi Yang, a mother of 3 and founder, A For Apothecary™

Just like how Aējou® micro farms provide an effortless growing experience to our customers, Mark and his team at That.Legal explained all our legal/IP options clearly and concisely, thus enabling us to make more informed and quicker decisions in our international trade mark applications.

Darren Ho, urban farmer and co-founder, Aējou®:

Other related resources:


Footnotes:

[1] Your Singapore incorporated company must be 30% beneficially owned by a Singaporean citizen or Permanent Resident

[2] An SME is defined as a company with group annual sales turnover of not more than S$100 million or Company’s Group Employment Size of not more than 200 employees

[3] A new market is defined as a market where your company has not already exceeded S$100,000 in revenue in each of the new markets over the last 3 preceding years (E.g. 2018 ($50,000), 2019 ($60,000), 2020 ($70,000) would still be considered a New Market).

Mark TENG