The Government is committed to developing Hong Kong into a regional intellectual property trading hub for co-ordinating IP business activities, Secretary for Commerce & Economic Development Gregory So said today.
Addressing the Business of Intellectual Property Asia Forum luncheon, Mr So said the opportunities are particularly visible in Hong Kong as the trend of use and creation of IP is shifting towards Asia, particularly in view of the Mainland's economic development, which presents huge market potential.
He noted that as a regional marketplace and service centre for activities such as copyright trading, licensing and franchising, design services and technology transfer, Hong Kong has seen average annual growth of 8% in the value of export of services relating to the use of IP since 2007, reaching about $4 billion in 2012.
The value of import of services relating to the use of IP, at over $15 billion in 2012, has registered an annual growth rate of 6% since 2007, he added.
Mr So noted that Hong Kong is fully equipped to pioneer in new frontiers in the evolving IP landscape due to its sound legal and financial infrastructure, highly open markets, deep pool of bilingual and experienced IP talent and robust IP regime in full compliance with the requirements of international IP treaties, as well as low-tax regime and world-class business professionals.
Mr So added that with its unique characteristics, Hong Kong can act as an IP middleman connecting buyers and sellers to partners on the Mainland and across Asia, as a sourcing platform for business-matching and trading in the IP realm, as an intermediary service provider supplying one-stop service in IP trading, and as a modifier or customiser of IP to suit the special needs of Mainland buyers.
