ENG-2012 — Page 133

Commerce and Industry

Trade Marks

In 2012, the Trade Marks Registry received 35,530 applications. During the period, 26,383 marks were registered, an increase of 9.4 per cent as compared with 2011. The principal countries/ areas out of the 109 filing applications were:

Hong Kong

13,204

United Kingdom

826

Mainland

6,964

Switzerland

727

USA

3,786

Taiwan

695

Japan

2,818

Germany

681

France

876

British Virgin Islands

641

The register had 299,119 registered marks by the end of the year.

Patents

The Patents Ordinance provides for the grant of standard patents based on patents granted by the State Intellectual Property Office of China, the United Kingdom Patent Office or the European Patent Office (in respect of patents designating the United Kingdom). It also provides for the grant of short-term patents, which may be registered following local formality examination procedures. The Patents Registry received 12,988 standard patent applications and 645 short-term patent applications in 2012, and 5,035 standard patents and 515 short-term patents were granted, more or less the same as in 2011.

The Government commenced a comprehensive review of the patent system in October 2011. Taking into account the result of a public consultation exercise, an advisory committee appointed by the Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development submitted its report to the Government in December 2012. The Government plans to announce how it will proceed in early 2013.

Registered Designs

In 2012, the Designs Registry received 2,552 applications for the registration of 5,206 designs, and 4,549 designs were registered, representing an increase of 1.6 per cent compared with 2011.

Copyright

The Copyright Ordinance protects literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works, typographical arrangements of published editions, sound recordings, films, broadcasts, cable programmes and performers' performances irrespective of the domicile of the copyright owners. In line with international practice, there is no requirement to register copyright.

Following the lapse of an amendment bill upon expiry of the previous term of the Legislative Council in July 2012, the Government continues efforts to address different stakeholders' concerns for strengthening copyright protection in the digital environment.

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