Walter is the International Trademark Association (INTA)’s chief representative officer for Asia Pacific, based in Singapore. INTA’s representative offices support the Association’s members by supporting trademarks and complementary intellectual property (IP) to foster consumer trust, economic growth, and innovation. INTA is also committed to building a better society though brands.
Since joining INTA in March 2023, Walter has focused on strengthening engagement across Asia-Pacific, supporting advocacy efforts, and contributing to regional initiatives. He has participated in high-level dialogues, helped organise workshops/events, and worked to build partnerships. His efforts have hopefully enhanced INTA’s presence and fostered collaboration within the intellectual property community. Walter has over 24 years of experience in government. Prior to joining INTA, he was with the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS). His last role there was as its founding head of its Partnership and Programme Department, which manages IPOS’ relations with its domestic stakeholders. Walter was also its Director for International Cooperation at IPOS. In the ten years at IPOS, Walter was also part of teams that helped established Singapore as an International Search Authority under the World Intellectual Property Organisation’s (WIPO) Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), set up IPOS’ subsidiary IPOS International Pte Ltd and played a role in Singapore’s successful campaign for the Director General position at the WIPO in 2020. He was also involved in the running of IPOS’ Annual Flagship event, IP Week @ SG since 2013. Before joining IPOS, Walter was with the Singapore Ministry of Foreign Affairs for 14 years. He served in its diplomatic missions to Philippines and Malaysia and had a short stint representing Singapore at the UN in New York.

Walter Chia | LinkedIn