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24.
It should be noted however that the benefits
of the Convention enjoyed by Hong Kong through its attachment
to one of the signatories to the Convention, whether it be
the United Kingdom or China, does not depend on Hong Kong
having a patent system. Indeed the point of the Convention was
that countries without a patent law could join the Union and
get benefits for their OWI nationals abroad. The present
provisions of the Convention provide equal treatment on the
basis of domicile and place of businesses as well as nationality.
25.
The laws relating to patents are generally
concerned with acts accomplished or committed in the country
itself, in other words a country's patent laws do not have
effect abroad. Three recent developments have however tended
to "internationalise" patents.
26.
The European Patent Convention confers a bundle of
10 national patents in the contracting states designated
by the applicant in a single patent application which undergoes
a single search and examination procedure through the European
Patent Office whose headquarters are
are in Munich. When an
application is filed, the EPO makes a a search of the relevant
state of the art and a report, which is published, is sent
to the applicant to enable him to assess the prospect of obtaining
the grant of a patent. If the applicant decides to proceed,
the EPO carries out the substantive examination for novelty,
/inventive
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