TRADE AND INDUSTRY
consultation in November 1996 and a draft Registered Designs Bill in December 1996.
Trade Marks and Patents
The Trade Marks Registry is a registry of original registration. Trade marks are registered in respect of both goods and services under the Trade Marks Ordinance. The procedure in applying for registration is laid down in the Trade Marks Rules. Every mark must satisfy the requirements of the Trade Marks Ordinance before it may be accepted for registration in Hong Kong. During 1996, 16 410 applications were received, 13 378 of which were in respect of goods and 3 032 in respect of services. In all, 11 720 marks were registered in 1996, an increase of 7 per cent compared with 10 940 in 1995. The applicants' principal places of origin were:
Hong Kong
USA
2685
2651
Germany Switzerland
536
422
Japan
1 221
France
UK
724
629
Italy Taiwan
358
275
British Virgin Islands
242
The register had a total of 88 428 marks at December 31, 1996. The Patents Registry is not a registry of original registration. It registers patents that have been granted in the UK or the European Patent Office designating the UK. The Registration of Patents Ordinance provides that any grantee of a UK Patent or an European Patent designating the UK may apply for registration of the patent in Hong Kong within five years from the date of its grant. This confers on the grantee the same privileges and rights as if the patent had been granted in the UK with an extension to Hong Kong. The privileges and rights run from the commencement of the term of the patent in the UK, and continue as long as the patent remains in force there. Hong Kong registered a total of 2 205 patents during the year, an increase of 12.5 per cent compared with 1 960 in 1995.
Copyright
The criminal provisions of the Copyright Ordinance were amended in 1995 to increase substantially the penalties against copyright piracy and to provide a second tier of higher penalties against repeat offenders. The maximum penalties for the possession of infringing copies of copyright works for trade and business purposes are a fine of $25,000 per copy and two years' imprisonment. The penalties for possession of a plate for manufacturing infringing copies of copyright works are a fine of $250,000 and four years' imprisonment.
In May 1996, the criminal provisions were further extended to cover the making of infringing copies outside Hong Kong for export to Hong Kong. In the case of a subsequent conviction the penalties are doubled. Moreover, the management of a body corporate or a partnership engaged in copyright piracy is now also liable to the same penalties. The purpose is to deter criminal copyright infringement on a commercial scale. The provisions of the Copyright Ordinance were also amended in the areas of rental rights, performers' right and customs border measures. These amendments were in keeping with Hong Kong's obligations as a party to the Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights.
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