Japan Urges Changes To Hong Kong's Company Registration Rules

by Mary Swire, for LawAndTax-News.com, Hong Kong

14 April 2005

According to reports in the regional media, the Japan Electronics and Information Technology Industries Association (JEITA) is urging the government of Hong Kong to amend its company registration rules.

JEITA has revealed that Chinese and other companies are taking advantage of the fact that the Hong Kong Companies Registrar does not closely examine whether a company name infringes on the copyright of another organisation before it is incorporated.

As a result, businesses such as the Japan Toshiba Electricity (HK) Co. Limited and Panasonic Air Conditioner Industry (HK) International Ltd have been established in Hong Kong, despite being totally unrelated to their namesakes.

Speaking to the LMG news service at the weekend, JEITA's Yuko Shiygo explained that:

"We are very worried that such names can make consumers mistake them for companies that are related to an existing famous company."

Shiygo went on to reveal that the Association is planning to take action under a newly implemented system, whereby companies can report the IP infringement problems being faced overseas, and Japanese officials can discuss the issues with their counterparts in the country in question.

"We are going to apply to this system and ask the Japanese government to support us to solve the problem as soon as the necessary documents are fixed," the JEITA representative announced.

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