ARY
Explanatory
PART IV
TRADE MARKS REGISTRY
98. The Trade Marks Ordinance 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. Registra- tion in Part A gives full rights of protection, in Part B modified rights. Registrations are valid for seven years, 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.
Applications and Registrations
99. There was a substantial increase in the number of applications during the year which at 2,349 was 424 more than in 1967-68 and the highest yearly total ever recorded. Of these applications, 2,326 were for registration in Part A of the Register, and 23 for registration in Part B. There was an increase of 65 to 1,717 in the number of applications accepted. There was, however, a decrease of 23 to 1,639 in the number of marks registered, these comprising 1,568 registrations in Part A and 71 in Part B.
100. Table XIX gives the number of marks registered in each of the thirty-four scheduled classes, and Table XX shows the countries of origin of the applications for the 1,639 marks registered. In each case the previous year's figures are included for comparison. The only class showing a notable increase over the 1967-68 figure was Class 30 (coffee, tea, cocoa, etc.) up 31 to 101; while substantial decreases were seen in classes 5 (pharmaceutical, veterinary and sanitary substances, etc.) down 58 to 247, and 1 (chemical products) down 22 to 61. The seven countries from which most applications were received were Hong Kong (450), the United States of America (419), Japan (242), the United Kingdom (192), West Germany (79), Switzerland (61) and Australia (30). Hong Kong and the United States of America remained at in the top two places. Japan, fourth last year, has gone up to the third position, ousting the United Kingdom into fourth place. West Germany and Switzerland remained in the fifth and sixth places.
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