ENG-2019 — Page 131

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Commerce and Industry

flagship Hong Kong Fintech Week, which recorded more than 12,000 attendees from over 60 economies in November.

Industrial Policy

Leveraging Hong Kong's competitive edge, the government is proactive in developing a high value-added and diversified economy which embraces the development of new economic sectors. The government also encourages industry participation to capitalise on opportunities emerging from the B&R Initiative and the Greater Bay Area development, in order to generate new impetus for the territory's economic development.

Small and Medium Enterprises

SMEs are manufacturing businesses that employ fewer than 100 people and non-manufacturing businesses with fewer than 50 employees in Hong Kong. There are more than 340,000 SMEs, representing over 98 per cent of all local enterprises and employing about 1.3 million people. The government's funding schemes help SMEs secure loans from lending institutions, expand export markets and enhance their competitiveness.

Protection of Intellectual Property Rights

Hong Kong maintains a robust regime for protecting intellectual property rights that features comprehensive legislation, convenient registration systems, rigorous enforcement and public education programmes. This has earned Hong Kong a reputation for effective protection of intellectual property.

Registration

The Intellectual Property Department provides electronic registration and management services through the internet. Its e-registers allow free data searches in Chinese or English, while the e-filing system enables intellectual property owners and agents to file their applications securely and to make changes to certain particulars of their registrations and applications directly. During the year, 73 per cent, 91 per cent and 80 per cent of applications for trade marks, patents and designs respectively were filed electronically.

Trade Marks

The Trade Marks Registry received 36,980 applications in 2019, an 8.3 per cent drop on 2018. It registered 33,371 marks, taking the number of registered marks to 442,263 by end-2019. Of the 112 countries and regions that filed applications, the principal ones were:

Hong Kong

13,574

United Kingdom

928

Mainland

6,589

France

797

US

3,808

Taiwan

749

Japan.

2,860

Germany

699

Korea

1,231

Switzerland

626

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