1. What is IP?
Intellectual Property (IP) is a group of separate intangible property
rights that give you protection in different ways of your business and
your products. They include trade marks, patents, copyright, designs,
plant varieties and the layout design of integrated circuits.
2. What is Trademark?
A trademark could be a logo
or device, name, signature, word, letter, numeral, smell, figurative
elements
or combination of colors and includes any combination of such signs and
3-dimensional shapes. Trademark represents a mark to promote and
identify the
owner's goods or services and to enable the public to distinguish them
from the
goods or services of other traders.
3. What is Patent?
A patent protects new inventions. It covers how things work, what they
do, how they do it, what they are made of and how they are made. It
gives you the exclusive right to make, use and sell the invention.
4. What is Design?
Design is the appearance of products such as the outlook of LCD TV,
telephones, MP3-players,
jewelry and watches. Registered designs protect only the external
appearance of products but
do not apply to how things work. Protection for how a product works may
be available under patent law.
5. What is my Protection?
Protection of intellectual property rights protects creativity. It
gives you assurance
of a free and fair environment in which to continue creativity and to
do your business.
In case there is any infringement activity taking place in Hong Kong,
you may take legal
action for protection under the Ordinances. Thus, you may need to
consider one or more,
or even all IP rights, to give you adequate protection.
6. Why it is of paramount significance
to
trademark registration?
Registration gives the
registered proprietor exclusive rights to use the mark in the course of
trade.
Hence the trademark owner could prevent third parties from using his
mark, or a
deceptively similar mark, without his consent for the goods or
services. For
unregistered trademarks, owners have to rely on common law for
protection. It
is more difficult to establish a case under common law.
7. How to register a trademark?
A trademark can
be registered if
it is:-
- An invented
word;
- Name of a
company, individual or
firm represented in a special manner;
- Signature (except in Chinese characters) of the applicant;
-
A word that is not either descriptive of the goods
or services for which the trademark is used or is not a geographical
name or is
not a surname; or
- Any other distinctive mark.
8. Would any restriction be imposed to
applicant with regard to trademark registration in
Hong Kong?
There is no restriction
on the nationality or place of incorporation of the applicant.
9. What is the length of time of
trademark
registration in Hong Kong?
The lead-time for a simple
case normally requires 6 to 8 months.
10. Would the applicant receive
a certificate
after trademark registration?
The Hong Kong
Intellectual Property Department will issue a Certificate of which it
serves to
evidence that a trademark is formally registered.
11. Is protection given by registration
for
eternity?
The validity of
trademark certificate will last for a period of 10 years and can be
renewed
indefinitely for successive periods of 10 years.
12. What is the workflow of trademark
registration?
Normally a trademark search will be performed to ascertain no similar
trademark
has been registered. It approximately takes about 3 months for the
reply from Trademark
Registry. If your application is approved afterwards, an advertisement
should
be publicized on Trademark Journal to see any objection from third
party. If no
objection is raised within 3 months, the application will proceed to
registration. The effective date of the registration will be backdated
to the
date of the application.
However,
if Trademark Registry does not approve the
application and objections are being raised, it is likely to raise
counter
objections and persuade the Trademark Registry to withdraw their
objections. To
cope with objections and counter objections will take considerable
time. Under
such circumstances, the application will take more than 6 months.
13. What information and documentations
are
necessary for trademark registration?
- Name of
applicant
- Correspondence
or registered address of applicant
- Copy of
Hong Kong Identity card or passport for individual applicant
- Copy of
business registration certificate or Certificate of Incorporation of
applicant
- Softcopy of the
proposed mark; and
- Desired class
of registration
14.
Can
a trademark registration be valid in one country enjoying worldwide
protection?
Trademark
rights are
territorial in nature and hence it is necessary to register a mark in
individual countries to secure protection in specific countries.
Disclaimer: The above is
for information only and users should not act on the same without obtaining
independent legal advice.
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