TNAG-2890-FCO40-4162-Reform-and-localisation-of-the-Hong-Kong-Patent-System-1993 — Page 73

Chapter 1

Summary

1.1. for change.

The report examines Hong Kong's present patent system and makes proposals

Justification for a patent

1.2.

Technical innovation, in function as distinct from appearance, is the subject matter of patents. In order to encourage innovation the patent system makes an invention public in return for granting the inventor a monopoly right to exploit it for the term of the patent. The technical information published in the patent is a spur to other inventors. The patent itself protects the result of a business investment in research and development. The patent is an asset that can be licensed or assigned (paragraphs 3.1 to 3.32).

The monopoly

1.3.

Because a patent protects the idea underlying the invention, the inventor can monopolize the various industrial forms in which the invention may be applied. In principle, the patent monopoly therefore has a broad scope. The monopoly that the patent gives is the right to manufacture, to sell, to use or import the invention and the right to prevent others from doing so (paragraphs 3.13, 3.14). The patent is granted only for an invention which is new, involves an inventive step and is industrially applicable (paragraphs 3.9 to 3.12).

Hong Kong's present patent system

1.4.

Hong Kong's patent law is currently dependent on United Kingdom patent law. Patent protection is obtained by registering in Hong Kong with the Registrar of Patents a United Kingdom patent or a European patent (UK). The Director of Intellectual Property is the Registrar of Patents. The patent when registered in Hong Kong has effect in Hong Kong for so long as it remains in force in the United Kingdom (paragraph 6.2, 6.11). It is generally accepted that registration in Hong Kong gives the patentee the same right to sue for infringement as a patentee in the United Kingdom (paragraphs 6.9, 6.21).

1.5.

The advantages of Hong Kong's present patent system are that patents registered in Hong Kong are strong (paragraph 6.13), the system is inexpensive to administer (paragraph 6.14) and a businessman who already has a United Kingdom patent or European patent (UK) does not need to apply for a patent in Hong Kong which is subjected to fresh search and examination (paragraph 6.15).

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