JUSTICE, POLICE, PRISONS AND RECORDS
Compulsory Winding-Up Orders were made by the Court in respect of six companies, out of a total of eight petitions presented during the year. There were six cases from previous years, bringing the total of outstanding cases to twelve. The Official Receiver acted as liquidator in seven of these, the remaining five cases being conducted under his supervision.
Trade Marks & Patents. In view of the rapid and constant growth of manufacturing industries in Hong Kong since the war, the registration of Trade Marks is of increasing importance in the protection of commercial rights and interests. During the year, 1,006 new Trade Marks were placed on the register, as against 915 in 1952. In addition, 57 marks that had been on the pre-war register (which was lost during the Japanese occupation) were registered in the new register under the Trade Marks Register (Reconstruction) Ordinance. The registration of 308 Trade Marks (valid for 14 years) was renewed during the year. There were 9,552 Trade Marks on the Register on the 31st December, 1953.
A new Trade Marks Bill, based generally on the United Kingdom Trade Marks Act 1938, is in the course of preparation, and it is expected that it will be enacted about the middle of 1954.
There is no provision in the law of Hong Kong for the original grant of patent rights. United Kingdom patents are, however, registrable in the Colony on application by the grantee, or any person deriving his rights from him, under the Registration of United Kingdom Patents Ordinance. During the year, 33 such registrations were effected.
Marriage Registry
The Ordinances providing for the preliminaries to and the solemnization of marriages are the Marriage Ordinance and the Foreign Marriage Ordinance.
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