TNAG-2890-FCO40-4162-Reform-and-localisation-of-the-Hong-Kong-Patent-System-1993 — Page 273

available. Other than the facilities of the Hong Kong Productivity Council (HKPC) (see paragraphs 15.34 to 15.38 below) we know of only one concern (a private company) which provides such facility.

15.33.

The difficulties associated with the establishment and maintenance of such a technical information centre are exacerbated in Hong Kong by the shortage of space. This problem, and perhaps Hong Kong's remoteness from facilities which provide training in the use of technical information, may have discouraged the establishment of technical information centres in Hong Kong.

15.34.

Another factor which may have discouraged the use of technical information in Hong Kong is the lack of information on Hong Kong-based technology. The Patents Registry in Hong Kong does not convert the information in patents registered in Hong Kong into electronic form and there is no electronic database in the Registry which could facilitate search through the paper copies. As the patents registered here will have been granted in the EPO or the UKPO, the technical information in recent Hong Kong patents will have been captured electronically, but even with electronic access to recent UK and EPO patents it is still inconvenient to search the technical aspects of Hong Kong patents.

15.35.

We consider that at least the bibliographic details of patents registered in Hong Kong should be entered into a database of Hong Kong patents. These details could be incorporated into the international services and it would then be easy for searchers anywhere in the world to ascertain important details of Hong Kong patents.

Intellectual Property Department

15.36. The Hong Kong Patents Registry forms part of the Intellectual Property Department (IPD). Due to its status as the office responsible for the administration of the patent system and due to its contacts with other registries and organisations which provide patent information, we consider that the IPD could provide, as necessary, a coordinating role in the collection and administration of patent information in Hong Kong. It is recognised that, at present, the IPD unlike the UKPO and the Swiss Patent Office, does not have the necessary technical expertise to provide the services of a technical information centre. (see para. 15.29)

The Hong Kong Productivity Council (HKPC)

15.37.

Since 1980 the HKPC has acted as the central co-ordinating body of information activities for industry in Hong Kong. From the outset it was recognized that the resources required to establish a comprehensive technical information centre with full document collections and substantial manpower could not be justified. It was decided to emphasize the use of external resources, and to concentrate on identifying and disseminating that information. In 1979 the HKPC obtained on-line access to certain US non-patent databases, and staff were trained in on-line search in the US. In 1982, on-line access to patent literature was introduced. To publicize this information HKPC also started to publish specialised monthly news reports on technologies of interest in Hong Kong such as domestic appliances, toys, consumer electronics, information technology and clocks and watches. These reports contained recent published patents in those technologies.

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