Launched by the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS) two days ago, ideas2IP is an online innovation platform where individual inventors can submit their ideas and investors can help distil promising ones into a form that has commercial potential because ideas, like crude oil, may contain impurities in its raw form.
In this “crude oil” refining process, there are few steps for inventors to get involved:
- Discover: Learn how it works, what makes a good idea, trivia, wacky inventions, and inspiring stories.
- Discuss: Register to participate in the forum and join in the buzz.
- Distil: Upgrade membership account to inventor for access or register through invention society to submit idea. IPOS staffs then will check whether there are similar products or services in the market. If the idea is a genuinely groundbreaking and offers commercial promise, IPOS will then try to matchmake the inventor with an investor.
- Showcase: Publish proven concept to attract other investors and technology adopters.
The key step is in the Distil process. Here’s an abstract of the FAQ that we thought should be highlighted:
How does Distil work?
Distil is the place where your ideas will be held while the system tries to match your ideas to an investor. Only the title, description and any existing IP rights related to the idea can be viewed by the investors. When an investor is interested to find out more about your idea, they may request for more information about the idea or your contact details.. You will be notified by email if there is such a request. You can then decide whether to send more information to the investor….Further discussions may be taken off the platform at the discretion of users and investors.
Does submitting my idea to the platform mean it’s registered with IPOS?
No, submission of ideas through ideas2IP.sg is an independent process from applications to have your IPs registered with IPOS. For more information on filing your intellectual property with IPOS, please refer to IPOS’ website.
Will my identity be disclosed?
Identity of users who submit ideas for appraisal will be kept confidential on the platform. Your identity will only be made known to the investor of your own accord, typically when further discussions are carried out e.g. signing confidentiality agreement prior to sharing further information about your idea.
Is my idea protected on the platform?
Ideas when saved on the platform, are in encrypted form which cannot be read by anyone other than the owner of the idea, who needs to log in with user id and password. If it is submitted for quick appraisal, only selected fields will be available for view by the investors. If more information is shared with others, members are encouraged to have non-disclosure agreements in place to protect their own interest.
So far, IPOS has signed up one interested investor: Invention Capital, it invests in technology companies that belong to certain specific areas. IPOS is also in talks with other potential investors specialising in other areas.
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