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Commerce and Industry

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 13,916 standard patent applications and 552 short-term patent applications in 2013, and 6,564 standard patents and 538 short-term patents were granted, an increase of 30.4 per cent and 4.5 per cent respectively as compared with 2012.

Having accepted the recommendations made by the Advisory Committee on Review of the Patent System in Hong Kong, the government in February announced the way forward for the local patent system, which included introducing an 'original grant' patent system while retaining the current 're-registration' system for grant of standard patents, refining the short-term patent system, and developing a full-fledged regulatory regime for patent agency services in the long run. Subject to the progress of implementation and legislation, the government anticipates launching the new patent system in 2016-17 at the earliest.

Registered Designs

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In 2013, the Designs Registry received 2,336 applications for the registration of 4,584 designs, and 4,765 designs were registered, representing an increase of 4.7 per cent compared with. 2012.

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.

The government conducted a public consultation exercise from July to November 2013 on how the copyright regime should give due regard to present day circumstances and strike a balance between copyright protection and freedom of expression in its treatment of parody. A report on the consultation (which attracted 2,455 submissions) was submitted to the Legislative Council Panel on Commerce and Industry in December. The government is carefully considering the views collected before deciding how to strengthen copyright protection in the digital environment, concluding efforts begun in 2006.

Enforcement

The Customs and Excise Department enforces criminal sanctions for infringement of intellectual property rights. It investigates reports of copyright infringement and trade mark counterfeiting; maintains licensing control on all optical disc and stamper factories; and takes action against the manufacture, distribution, sale, import and export of pirated and counterfeit goods and possession for business use. It also combats copyright piracy and other infringement on the internet.

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