The Intellectual Property Department (IPD) is actively promoting the migration to e-services for registration of trademarks, patents and designs to facilitate the protection of intellectual property (IP) rights, said Hong Kong Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Rita Lau.
Speaking at a recent IPD ceremony, Mrs. Lau said she is pleased to note that since e-services were introduced in 2003, rights owners and IP practitioners had put them to good use, with the number of e-applications filed exceeding 210,000. In recent years, the department has also been reaching out to the business community to promote the concept of intellectual capital management (ICM).
The IPD will soon start a pilot ICM program targeting small and medium enterprises, with free consultancy services to help them build up, manage and harness their intellectual capital. “In the process, we would also like to promote better appreciation of the importance of a culture of respect in the business community for IP rights,” Mrs. Lau said.
Mrs. Lau noted that a number of major IP events will be held this year, including an international convention of the Asian Patent Attorneys Association and a regional symposium of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). She hopes the local IP community will make use of these opportunities to share with IP professionals and experts from other parts of the world their experience and best practices in protecting IP rights.
In line with the government’s Digital 21 strategy, the IPD has expended considerable effort to promote its e-services. The computer systems for the registration of trademarks, patents and designs are now fully automated, and Web-based search, filing, publication and payment are now available around the clock.
In 2008, 59.5% of applications for registration of trademarks were filed online. In addition, 47.4% of standard patents and 44.9% of designs were filed electronically. The figures show that the e-Filing system has been well supported by the legal community and IP rights owners.
At the IPD’s annual Top e-Filers’ award presentation ceremony on March 2, 15 awards were presented to the e-Filers with the highest volume of electronic transactions between January 1, 2008, and December 31, 2008. Another five awards were presented to those with the highest volume of e-applications in 2008.
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