LAW AND ORDER
145
and 86 marks that were on the old Register lost during the Japanese occupation were registered in the new Register in accordance with the provisions of the Trade Marks Register (Reconstruction) Ordinance, under which the last date for registration in the new Register was 8 December 1955. Registrations are valid for 7 years (14 years if registered prior to 1 January 1955), but may be renewed indefinitely for further periods of 14 years. The number of marks on the Register is
11,713.
Hong Kong law does not provide for the original grant of patents, but patents registered in the United Kingdom are registrable under the Registration of United Kingdom Patents Ordinance (Cap. 42). This provides that the grantee of a patent in the United Kingdom may, within five years from the date of the issue of the patent, apply to have it registered in Hong Kong.
Bankruptcies
Seven bankruptcy petitions were filed, but two were withdrawn. They included two complicated cases relating to local banks with estimated liabilities of about $1,500,000 and $7,000,000 respectively. The tendency is for creditors to prefer to appoint the Official Receiver as Trustee, instead of an outside public accountant. The Official Receiver was appointed in four of the five cases, including those of the two banks.
Marriages
All marriages except non-Christian customary marriages are governed by the provisions of the Marriage Ordinance (Cap. 181). Under this, a notice of intended marriage is ex- hibited at the Registry for 15 days, after which the Registrar issues a certificate which enables the marriage to be solemnized at a licensed place of worship, or to take place as a civil marriage before the Registrar. The Governor may grant a licence authorizing the marriage to take place before the expiry of the 15-day period, or dispensing with notice altogether.
Although the validity of unregistered Chinese marriages is not affected by the Marriage Ordinance, marriage at the Registry is becoming increasingly popular, as the advantages of having a proper certificate of marriage are better under- stood. The number of marriages registered in 1955 was 4,598, the highest ever.