Speaking at the signing ceremony INTA CEO Etienne Sanz de Acedo commented: “This MoU is going to be a starting point for further cooperation and for further interaction between INTA and HKIPD.”
Peter Cheung, director of the HKIPD, said that over the years he had undergone a shift in mindset that tied in with the spirit of the MoU: “When I used to attend INTA activities, I would think when I met people: ‘what can you do for me?’ But several years ago I changed to saying: ‘what can I do for you?’”
Commenting on the MoU he went even further: “It is not what you can do for me or what I can do for you, it is how we can work together. What we are doing is institutionalizing all our common goals, and trying to move to the next level.”
Cheung retires on Wednesday. He has been with the department since April 2011 and has pushed to develop Hong Kong as an IP center. “I find myself linked to INTA because my last day of service falls on Wednesday, so I take that as a good omen,” he said.