Piece Future IPHatch programme helps startups leverage unused patents

Intellectual Property (IP) Bank, Piece Future, has launched IPHatch Asia 2025. Referred to by the company as an open-innovation platform, IPHatch Asia is now in its eighth year. This initiative is meant to match startups in Asia with unused patents from technology companies, such as Casio, Nokia, and Panasonic, with the larger goal of helping startups reduce development time. 

About the event

Most are unlikely to have heard of IP banks, but these institutions function similarly to investment banks, except with a specific focus on intellectual property. Such companies assist individuals and companies with monetising their IP portfolios — which can include patents, trademarks, or copyrights — through means such as licensing, strategic partnerships, or outright sales. Investment banks, like JP Morgan and the Bank of America, may also have an IP-backed investment arm.

In that context, IPHatch Asia builds off Piece Future’s existing experience with handling IP. This programme offers startups a chance to access unused patents from tech companies, including Casio, Murata, NEC, Nokia, Panasonic, and Rikoh.

Akin to an IP-led venture creation platform, the goal is to help startups lower their entry barriers by giving them access to existing innovations they can adapt, rather than forcing them to invent from scratch. This can significantly cut R&D timelines and open up new product possibilities for young companies with limited resources.

“At Piece Future, we believe in innovation with impact,” said Jason Loh, CEO and Founder of Piece Future. “By unlocking access to unused patents, we give startups the tools to accelerate development, reduce R&D time and bring their solutions to the market faster.”

Other stakeholders

The programme is co-organised with the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC), and supported by regional partners such as IPI Singapore, which provides innovation advisory to SMEs; and Malaysia’s Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC), a government agency driving the country’s digital transformation.

One notable alumnus of the programme is Engage Nova, a Singapore-based startup that specialises in Field Service Technologies. This company uses digital tools to improve the efficiency of service teams working on the ground. Through IPHatch Asia, the company was able to collaborate with global electronics company, Panasonic.

“IPHatch is a very unique event,” said Jew Pean Lim, Co-Founder and CEO of Engage Nova.

“The experience in the past two years allowed us to appreciate IP better and we have since applied IP management in our product development process. The collaboration and partnership gave us greater value when we launched our solutions to the market, and helped us integrate IP management into our product development process.”

Applications for IPHatch Asia 2025 are open until the end of July.