HP (HPQ) is opening an intellectual property licensing center in Singapore to provide companies, governments, research institutes and universities in Asia with access to HP's technology and intellectual property through licensing agreements.

The Asia Pacific IP Licensing Center will initially focus on developing new technology licensing agreements in Singapore, Taiwan, Korea, Japan, India and China, with plans to expand to other countries in the region as business needs arise.

Licenses are available for HP's know-how, patents, trademarks and copyrights in a broad range of technology areas, including consumer electronics, emerging technologies, semiconductors, networking, software and storage.

The Asia Pacific IP Licensing Center extends HP's worldwide IP licensing program, which was formed in 2003 as a means to generate additional value from HP's IP by increasing its use in new markets through licenses to third parties. The program also ensures HP receives fair value for the use of its IP by others.

"HP's strong legacy of innovation has generated a vast IP portfolio, including more than 30,000 patents. Our IP licensing program ensures that important technology gets to market through the transfer of our patents and technical know-how," said Joe Beyers, vice president, Intellectual Property Licensing, HP. "The expansion of our IP licensing program to Asia broadens our ability to monetize our IP assets and realize a greater return on our R&D investment."