HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT, 1954
has been under consideration since 1938. The inter- vention of the war and the loss of all records during the war years have, until recently, made it impossible to introduce the required legislation. Ordinance No. 47 achieves this purpose and follows closely the lines of the Trade Marks Act, 1938, and Singapore legislation. The provisions relating to the defensive registration of trade marks are, however, rather wider. In contrast with the Trade Marks Act, 1938, trade marks consisting not only of words but also of devices are permitted to be so registered, in view of the greater reliance placed on devices by a large section of the public. Further- more the criterion for such registration is whether the use of the mark in relation to other goods would be likely to detract from the distinctive character of the mark in relation to the goods in respect of which it is registered and used; this criterion is easier to establish and affords a wider scope for such registration than that contained in United Kingdom legislation.
Subsidiary legislation: Towards the end of the year an order was made under the Judgments (Facilities for Enforcement) Ordinance (Cap. 9) allowing facilities for the enforcement of judgments obtained in the Colonies of Sarawak, North Borneo and Brunei with effect from the 1st January, 1955; these Colonies now join the somewhat miscellaneous list of territories which enjoy the benefits of the Ordinancé, namely, Ceylon, Bermuda, New South Wales, Victoria, Singapore and the Federation of Malaya. With the exception of this Order and the regulations and rules referred to above under the headings Prisons, Mining and Trade Marks, nothing calls for special mention in the field of sub- sidiary legislation.
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