Bratisl
1
19
in the Cabinet Office in his paper
Intellectural Property
Rights and Innovation" (Cond 9117). The relevance of his
views for Hong Kong make it worth quoting the relevant
paragraphs.
"Two-tier patents
4.7
Currently in the UK it is not possible
to patent inventions other than through the costly
and time-consuming process of application for
a full patent with its detailed examination for
novelty and non-obviousness (see 4.9 below).
In many other countries, including Germany,
Japan, France, Italy and Australia, there is
legislation that allows easier access to protection
in exchange for a more limited form of protection.
It is usually known as a "petty" patent or
utility model. The distinguishing features of
these petty patents are that they last for a
shorter period than ordinary patents, but are
more easily obtained because they are not
usually examined before award. But they do leave
open the door to legal action if there is
significant infringement (and if the market
warrants it).
4.8
We believe that there is a gap in the
UK system which may be inhibiting innovators,
particularly the smaller companies, from exploiting
/their
?