Trademark protection in Hong Kong is territorial. That is to say, trademarks registered in mainland China or in other countries or regions do not automatically receive protection in Hong Kong. The trade mark law of Hong Kong is based on the Trade Marks Ordinance Cap. 559. The system established by this legislation is entirely separate to the system used in the People's Republic of China, pursuant to the "one country-two systems" policy.
Hong Kong Trademark Registration Procedures
Registration of a trademark in Hong Kong starts with the filing of an application at the Trade Mark Registry of the Hong Kong Intellectual Property Department. An application may cover one or more classes of products and/or services.
To begin with, the application is assessed by an examiner for deficiencies which go to formalities. The next stage is substantive examination, where the main grounds of objection could be raised: absolute grounds for refusal (e.g. where the mark is inherently not registerable), and relative grounds for refusal (e.g. where the mark is identical or similar to mark covered by an application or registration filed earlier in time).
After the objections (if any) are overcame, the application will be accepted by the registry and published for opposition purposes for an extendable period of three months to allow third parties to object to registration of the mark on certain grounds.
Once any oppositions are resolved, a certificate of registration will be issued. The standard time-frame to registration for an application which encounters few if any problems or difficulties is 12 months.
Upon registration, and subject to the discussion on revocation below, a trade mark is valid for an extensible period of 10 years.
Rights to be Granted Upon Registration
A registered trademark gives the registrant exclusive rights to prevent others from:
1. Using a mark identical to the registrant’s mark on or in relation to identical goods or services;
2. Using a mark identical or similar to the registrant’s mark on or in relation to identical or similar goods or services, where there is a likelihood of confusion on the part of the public; and
3. Using a mark identical or similar to the registrant’s mark in relation to identical, similar, or dissimilar goods or services if the use takes unfair advantage of or is detrimental to the distinctive character or reputation of the registrant’s mark - but only if the registrant’s mark is “well known.”
Contact Us
If you have further inquires, please do not hesitate to contact Tannet at anytime, anywhere by simply visiting Tannet’s website english.tannet-group.com, or calling Hong Kong hotline at 852-27826888 or China hotline at 86-755-82143422, or emailing to 2355735242@qq.com. You are also welcome to visit our office situated in 16/F, Taiyangdao Bldg 2020, Dongmen Rd South, Luohu, Shenzhen, China.
Previous：Doing Business in Hong Kong
Next：Register A Company in Hong Kong