The Government today launched a three-month public consultation on the review of the registered designs regime of Hong Kong.

Industrial design, as a type of intellectual property, broadly refers to the ornamental aspect of a product, and embodies a designer’s intellectual efforts and acumen for making a product appealing to customers. Legal protection of an industrial design can be obtained in Hong Kong by way of registration under the Registered Designs Ordinance.

Since the enactment of the ordinance in 1997, design trends around the world have significantly evolved with technological innovation and advancement, the Commerce & Economic Development Bureau said, noting that Hong Kong must continue to afford effective protection for designs as the city drives towards new industrialisation.

To ensure that Hong Kong’s registered designs regime is up-to-date and remains competitive, the Government considers it timely and necessary to conduct a comprehensive review of the regime, the bureau added.

The consultation document, now uploaded onto the websites of the Commerce & Economic Development Bureau and the Intellectual Property Department, looks into a wide range of issues pertaining to the local registered designs regime, from the scope of and requirements for legal protection of designs, the procedures for design applications and registrations, to the possible alignment with international practices and standards.

Members of the public may submit their views by email, by fax to 2147 3065 or by post to Division 3, Commerce & Economic Development Bureau, 23/F, West Wing, Central Government Offices, 2 Tim Mei Avenue, Tamar, Hong Kong, on or before March 16 next year.