TNAG-2890-FCO40-4162-Reform-and-localisation-of-the-Hong-Kong-Patent-System-1993 — Page 43

UNCLASSIFIED

0642

MDLIAN 21

appropriate boxes according to the countries where he wished to have patent protection. Each box carried an additional fee of USD 100. From next year, China would have its own box (Hong Kong would not). Hartnack felt that companies should take a long-term view and tick the China box even if they felt that the market was unlikely to develop for another twenty years.

Proposed Hong Kong Patent Law.

5. The Hong Kong Patents Steering Committee (PSC) had recommended that Hong Kong should establish an independent patent system in Line with international standards. The Law would be evolutionary, based initially on patents granted by the European Patent Office (EPO), and later on those granted by the China Patent Office (CPO). Currently, patents had first to be registered in the UK, before being re-registered in Hong Kong. The existing system favoured British applicants over their foreign rivals. A possible snag lay in the requirement that applications be filed in Hong Kong within six months of their initial presentation to EPO. that early stage, companies would not know the outcome of their first application.

Hong Kong Receiving Office.

I

At

6. Hartnack was interested in the possibility of Hong Kong becoming a Patent Receiving Office for the whole of China after 1997. One difficulty was that, since Hong Kong was not a sovereign state, it could not speak independently at WIPO. suggested that Hong Kong might be represented under the auspices of the Chinese delegation. This possibility would clearly need to be discussed with the Chinese in the JLG (I could not at the time recall what state discussions had reached). In reply to a question, I said that it was not for HMG to determine the position taken by Alice Tai, the Hong Kong representative at this week's WIPO Conference in Geneva. However, I suggested that he keep HKD informed of his Department's position on Hong Kong.

UK/China Patent Collaboration.

7. Hartnack referred to the German' Patent Office's close and Long-standing relations with CPO. Since 1984, the Germans had had an office inside the CPO. They had already trained 400 Chinese patent examiners, and invested DM 20m. The Japanese were also showing interest. They had set up an annual joint commission on

PAGE

2

UNCLASSIFIED