The Guangdong/Hong Kong Expert Group on Protection of Intellectual Property Rights, which held its ninth meeting in Hong Kong on July 30, decided to step up cooperation to raise the level of intellectual property (IP) awareness among the public and enterprises in Guangdong and Hong Kong. Cooperation projects for 2010-2011 will include:

• Encouraging Hong Kong-invested enterprises in Guangdong with domestic sales in mainland China to apply for famous trademarks in Guangdong Province;
• Organizing seminars, training courses and exchange programs for enterprises in both places; and
• Organizing IP training activities for enforcement officials in both places.

Speaking at a post-meeting press conference, Hong Kong Director of Intellectual Property Stephen Selby welcomed Guangdong’s arrangement to allow Hong Kong-invested enterprises with domestic sales on the Mainland to apply for famous trademarks in Guangdong Province. He said the measure could sharpen the competitive edge of Hong Kong enterprises by raising their trademark value and building up goodwill.

“Hong Kong and Guangdong will jointly organize a training course on intellectual capital management to establish a team of trainers — comprising government officials, IP academics and intermediaries — with a view to assisting Guangdong enterprises and Hong Kong-invested enterprises in Guangdong to strengthen their overall abilities in IP management and exploitation,” Mr. Selby said.

Also present at the press conference was the Director-General of the Guangdong Intellectual Property Office, Tao Kaiyuan, who said that with the efforts of both sides, cooperation on IP between Guangdong and Hong Kong was incorporated in the Framework Agreement on Hong Kong/Guangdong Co-operation as an independent item. This demonstrated that the governments of the two places attached great importance to IP protection and that IP cooperation between Guangdong and Hong Kong had entered a new era, Ms. Tao added.

At the meeting, both sides reviewed the projects completed in the past year, including the “Symposium on Patent Law Amendment and Implementation of the Mainland” and the “Guangdong/Hong Kong Seminar on Intellectual Property and Development of Small and Medium Enterprises.” They also reviewed training courses on IP protection in conventions and exhibitions overseas and use of patent information to accelerate restructuring and upgrading, as well as exchange programs for the IP industry. The promotion of the “No Fakes Pledge” program was also enhanced in the two places.  

Guangdong and Hong Kong, in collaboration with the Economic Services of the Government of the Macao Special Administrative Region, have completed the compilation of the English version of “A Concise Booklet on the Intellectual Property Rights of Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao” to help foreign readers understand IP laws and systems in the three places.

The IPR enforcement agencies of Guangdong and Hong Kong have also continued to maintain close cooperation. With contributions from both sides, new breakthroughs have been achieved to strengthen the coordination mechanism for IP-related cases, which has further enhanced intelligence exchange and enforcement effectiveness.

The expert group, set up after the sixth plenary of the Guangdong/Hong Kong Co-operation Joint Conference in August 2003, aims to enhance exchanges and cooperation on various aspects of IP protection, including promotion and education, training, enforcement, research study and information dissemination. 
A summary of the cooperation items is posted on the Web site of the Intellectual Property Department [www.ipd.gov.hk].