Introduction to patent application in Hong Kong, China
Hong Kong is one of the few "free port cities" in the world. The open area is the entire Hong Kong area, while most other free ports in the world are "free port zones", that is, only the area near the port is used as a free port. A long time ago, Hong Kong has become the main trade channel for southern China and Southeast Asia to communicate with other countries around the world, and re-export trade has always been the source of livelihood for residents. It is one of the important trade, transportation and financial centers in the Asia-Pacific region. Subsequently, it has developed into an important commercial and financial center in Asia, an international business hub, an international financial center, an important service hub connecting the mainland and the world, an international city, and an international shipping and trade center.
Hong Kong has an excellent judicial system, a clean social atmosphere, an efficient regulatory system, an open market, a good business environment, free and open trade, and maintains low tax rates, a simple tax system, the rule of law and judicial independence. In 2022, the "Global Financial Center Index" report jointly released by the British Z/Yen Group and the China (Shenzhen) Comprehensive Development Research Institute showed that Hong Kong's overall ranking remained third in the world.
For Chinese applicants, Hong Kong will not automatically provide protection for authorized Chinese patents. Therefore, if the Chinese patent wants to be protected in Hong Kong, it will prevent others from manufacturing, using, selling, and promising in Hong Kong without permission. Selling or importing this patented product or products prepared by this patented method requires a separate application for registration in Hong Kong.
The intellectual property system in Hong Kong is very different from that in the mainland. According to the Patent Ordinance and Registered Design Ordinance promulgated by Hong Kong, there are two types of patents in Hong Kong, namely: invention patents and design patents. Invention patents are divided into three types according to different submission methods: original grant patent (OGP), transcription standard patent and short-term patent. Original-grant patents refer to standard patents introduced into the original-grant patent system. They can be authorized through direct application and require formal and substantive examinations. The maximum protection period is 20 years. Design patents can initially be protected for 5 years and can be renewed every 5 years, with a maximum protection period of 25 years. A prerequisite for transcribing a standard patent is that the applicant must first submit an earlier corresponding patent application to one of the three patent offices, namely the State Intellectual Property Office, the British Intellectual Property Office or the European Patent Office, specifying the UK patent application, and Hong Kong Knowledge The Intellectual Property Protection Office only conducts formal examination for this type of patent application, and the maximum protection period is 20 years. A short-term patent application can only contain a maximum of 2 independent claims, and the number of dependent claims is not limited. Only formal examination is conducted, and the maximum protection period is 8 years.
Introduction to Hong Kong Patent System
1. Language for submitting Hong Kong patent application:
Chinese, English
2. Types of patent protection:
inventions, designs
3. Ways for Chinese applicants to apply for patents in Hong Kong:
Paris Convention, Hong Kong patents based on designated applications that have entered the PCT national phase
4. Review unit:
Hong Kong Intellectual Property Department (Website: Intellectual Property Department - Intellectual Property Overview (ipd.gov.hk) )
Patent Search: Patent Search (ipd.gov.hk)
5. Submit application:
electronic submission
6. Review process:
- Original standard patent: After formal examination and substantive examination;
- Transcription of standard patents:
- The first stage: recording request, the applicant must submit the request to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region within 6 months after the publication of the designated patent application;
- The second stage: registration and authorization request. The applicant must submit a registration and authorization request in the Hong Kong SAR within 6 months after the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region issues a record request or the designated patent office announces the designated patent (whichever is later) .
- Short-term patent: Only formal examination is conducted. Once a short-term patent is granted, the owner of the patent or any third party with reasonable grounds or legitimate commercial interests can request a substantive examination of the patent. If it passes the examination, the registry will issue a certificate of substantive examination; if it fails to pass the examination, the registry will revoke the short-term patent.
- Design patent: only formal examination is conducted.
7. Application documents:
- Original standard patent/short-term patent:
- Complete patent document, including specification, claims, description drawings, Chinese or English abstract, and abstract drawings (electronic version, especially the text part)
- Confirm the Chinese and English name of the invention
- Applicant’s Chinese or English name and address
- Inventor’s Chinese or English name and address
- The relationship between the applicant and the inventor (if the applicant and the inventor are different)
- The place of priority application, application number and filing date (if priority is claimed), a copy of the priority certification document can be submitted within two months after receiving the examination opinion
- Transcription of standard patents:
- The designated patent office publishes a copy of the entire document of the designated patent application, including the first page of the published text (including abstract), claims, description, and drawings of the description
- English translation of the abstract (if published in Chinese) (electronic version is preferred)
- Confirm the Chinese and English name of the invention
- Confirm applicant’s name and address
- Confirm the name of the inventor
- Confirm the application number, filing date, publication number and publication date of the designated patent application
- Confirm the place, application number and date (if any) of the priority application. No priority certification document is required.
- Design patent:
- Chinese and English name of the design
- Applicant’s Chinese or English name and address
- The relationship between the applicant and the designer (if the applicant and the designer are different)
- Category of appearance design
- Email our company's design drawings or photos in JPEG format, which must be at least 300 pixels (it is best to provide a six-sided view and a three-dimensional view)
- The place of priority application, application number and filing date (if any), a copy of the priority certification document must be submitted within three months of the filing date
8. Average authorization time:
- Original standard patent: 2-3 years
- Transcription of standard patents:
- The first stage of recording takes: 2-4 months
- Second phase registration time: 6-9 months
- Short-term patent: 4-6 months
- Design patent: 6 months
Features of Hong Kong patents
1. The authorization of short-term patents in Hong Kong is based on the search report of an international search agency or one of the three designated patent offices (CNIPA, UKIPO, and the designated British EPO).
2. No power of attorney is required to submit a patent application in Hong Kong.
3. The applicant can submit a short-term patent application within 12 months after filing the international application and claim the priority of the international application. If an international application seeking an invention patent or utility model patent and designating China has entered the Chinese national phase, the applicant of the international application may apply for a short-term patent for the invention disclosed in the application (if any). The application must be filed within six months after the international application enters the national phase in China, or within six months after the State Intellectual Property Office issues a national application notice.