ENG-2010 — Page 151

Commerce and Industry | 109

a stronger innovation and technology culture in Hong Kong and develop a bigger platform for the industry to exchange information and knowledge on innovation and technological development. The activities included roadshow, exhibitions, seminars, workshops, a large-scale carnival and conferences. ITC also collaborated with non- profit-making organisations and government departments in organising science competitions to strengthen school children's interest in innovation and technology.

Protection of Intellectual Property Rights

Hong Kong maintains a robust regime for protecting intellectual property rights. With its comprehensive legislation, convenient registration, rigorous enforcement and imaginative public education, Hong Kong has gained a reputation for effective protection of intellectual property.

Registration

The Intellectual Property Department is committed to providing high-quality and responsive registration services to the public. The department provides various electronic services to enable efficient and cost-effective registration and management of trade marks, patents and registered designs. The registers of trade marks, patents and designs are maintained in electronic format, allowing searching of relevant data in Chinese or English through the Internet, at any time, free of charge (http://ipsearch.ipd.gov.hk). The electronic filing system also provides a secure and user-friendly environment for intellectual property owners or agents to file their applications at any time (https://iponline.ipd.gov.hk).

With the department's interactive services, owners of registered rights and their agents can make changes to certain particulars recorded in the registers directly. These changes are updated instantly in the various registry records.

The electronic services, particularly electronic filing, have been well received. In 2010, over 50 per cent of trade marks, patents and designs applications respectively were filed electronically.

Trade Marks

In 2010, the Trade Marks Registry received 28 872 applications. During the period, 23 043 marks were registered, an increase of 2 per cent as compared with 2009. Out of the total of 92 countries/areas filing applications, the principal places were:

Hong Kong, China

10 902

Switzerland

658

Mainland of China

5 332

Taiwan, province of China

638

US

3 070

United Kingdom

582

Japan

2 349

Germany

563

France

662

British Virgin Islands

460

The register had a total of 255 262 marks by the end of the year.