The Government announced today the way forward for the development of the patent system in Hong Kong.
It includes introducing an "original grant" patent system with substantive examination outsourced to other patent offices while retaining the current re-registration system; retaining the short-term patent system with suitable refinements; and, developing a fully fledged regulatory regime on patent agency services in the long term.
To ensure the Hong Kong patent system continues to meet present-day circumstances and can facilitate the city’s development into a regional innovation and technology hub, the Government launched a comprehensive review of it in October 2011, and conducted a public consultation.
The Advisory Committee on the Review of the Patent System was appointed by the Secretary for Commerce & Economic Development in the same month.
The committee submitted a report to the Government on the positioning of Hong Kong's patent system in December, which has been accepted by the Government. It supports the committee's strategic recommendations on the further development of Hong Kong’s patent system. It will continue discussions with the committee to work out the details of the implementation plan in the next phase.
The Government will brief the Legislative Council on the issue on February 19.
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