Explanatory
PART V
TRADE MARKS REGISTRY
37. The Trade Marks Ordinance, 1954, is based on the United Kingdom Trade Marks Act, 1938. The Register consists of two parts, Part A for distinctive marks, and Part B for marks which are not registrable in Part A but are capable of distinguishing the goods of the applicant and have been used in Hong Kong for not less than two years. Registration in Part A gives full rights of protection, in Part B modified rights. Registrations are valid for seven years (fourteen if registered prior to 1st January, 1955), but may be renewed indefinitely for further periods of fourteen years. Defensive and certification trade marks may be registered, and a person other than the proprietor of a mark may be registered as a registered user. The procedure and forms to be used are set forth in the Trade Marks Rules, 1954.
Searches and Inspections of the Register of Trade Marks
38. During the year, 280 official searches were made by the Registry on requests under Rule 108 for the purpose of ascertaining whether there were any marks on the Register which resembled marks submitted with such requests. Searches of this kind are usually preliminary to applications for registration. 921 inspections were made by the public.
Applications and Registrations
39. 1,595 applications were received for the registration of Trade Marks in Part A of the Register, and thirty one for registration in Park B-a total of 1,626, and 1,476 applications were accepted. 1,321 marks were registered including thirty four in Part B, and three Defensive Trade Marks. Of these 1,321 marks, three had been applied for prior to 1st January, 1955, the date the 1954 Ordinance came into force, and were therefore registered according to the old classification. The remaining 1,318 were registered according to the new classification,
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