Registrar-Generals-Department-Annual-report-1966-1967 — Page 63

PART XI

MISCELLANEOUS

Visits

180. On his way back to Hong Kong from home leave, the Reg- istrar General, Mr. W. K. THOMSON, took the opportunity of calling at the offices of Mr. Ray E. LEE, County Recorder, Los Angeles, and Mr. Martin MONGAN, the County Clerk/Recorder, San Francisco. At each of these offices he inspected the system of recording on micro- film documents relating to land, and also the system at Los Angeles for recording births, marriages and deaths and that at San Francisco for recording marriages. At both offices a great deal of information and advice was obtained, which has been found of very considerable value in considering the Land Office's own proposals for transferring all its records to microfilm. So efficient is the system at Los Angeles that any one of the 15 million pages of new records created since September 1957 may be withdrawn from the film jacket files and viewed within 30 seconds. The many courtesies extended to Mr. THOMSON during these visits are gratefully acknowledged. Mr. THOMSON also paid a very brief visit to the office of the Registrar of Titles, Vancouver, with whom he exchanged notes on the land registration systems in operation in Vancouver and Hong Kong.

181. Mr. R. E. LOUREIRO, an Assistant Registrar with special knowledge of insurance matters, attended as an observer the Third General Conference of the East Asian Insurance Congress held in Bangkok from 14th to 16th November 1966. Three subjects of special interest to insurers in East Asia were discussed in as many plenary sessions, namely, 'The Surplus of Insurance Companies in Life and Non-Life', 'Taxation Problems in the Insurance Industry (Life and Non-Life)', and "The Asian Insurance Pool'.

182. Eight members of the Overseas Industrial Design and Trade Mark Research Mission from Japan visited the Department on 24th February 1967 and discussed in general terms problems connected with registration of Trade Marks in Hong Kong, infringement of Trade Mark registrations and other related matters. The Mission also inspected the systems in operation in the Trade Marks and Patents Registries for registration of Trade Marks and Patents and for filing and classifying registered Trade Marks.

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