Advantages of a registration system
5.7.
A registration system has many attractive features. From the perspective of the patent office, it has significant cost advantages in that no search and examination staff are required, and there is no need for an expensive, comprehensive technical information centre. From the perspective of the businessman, registering an existing patent can be much easier and cheaper than processing an original patent application. This will be the case if the businessman has been granted a patent elsewhere which is capable of registration in Hong Kong.
5.8.
In summary, the advantages of any registration system are that it is not necessary to fund and develop the expertise to run a search and examination system and that it is easier and quicker to implement than a system involving search and examination. It is also a system in which registering and consequently obtaining the patent is simple and inexpensive and should be acceptable to users.
Disadvantages of a registration system
5.9.
A disadvantage of a registration system for the Hong Kong businessman is that he cannot apply for a patent in Hong Kong. This risks creating a feeling that the Hong Kong system is irrelevant to him. It would be a disadvantage, however, only when he seeks patent protection in Hong Kong alone. It is not a problem if he would in any event seek a grant of a patent in the country whose patents are capable of being registered in Hong Kong. For this reason, if a registration system is adopted, it is preferable to register the patents granted by one of Hong Kong's major trading partners as businessmen from Hong Kong and overseas are likely to want to seek the grant of a patent there as well as in Hong Kong. This issue is discussed further in paragraph 5.27. If the registration system is one in which the registered patent is dependent on the continued existence of the patent granted elsewhere, there is an additional disadvantage because, as pointed out in paragraph 5.2 above, issues such as revocation cannot be dealt with locally.
Registering patents from one system or more than one
5.10.
A patent specification, ultimately, is a document to be interpreted by a court which will decide whether or not the patent is valid or infringed. It is necessary for a uniform standard of patentability and of interpretation of the claims to be applied by such a court so that everyone is treated equally. With patents registered from one jurisdiction, it is clearly advantageous and appropriate to make use of the standards derived from the law and practice of that jurisdiction.
5.11.
However, it can be seen that there is an immediate problem if patents from more than one jurisdiction are registered, namely what standard to apply. Before considering the options for registration it is important to understand the nature of differences in approach between countries in the way patents are granted and interpreted and the likely effects of such differences in maintaining a consistent standard of dispute resolution.
5.12.
Patents attempt to define the scope of an invention so that third parties know what acts are prescribed and what are not. The part of a patent specification in which the
38
inve
the i
laws
and
exar
prio
Pate
nam
is m
and
can
hav
5.1
cla
Dil
арг
cla
cla
Th
ex1
to
a (
W(
to
Ki
Ει
5.
la
fr
fc