There are no immediate plans to discuss the "one registration, two uses" proposal for trademarks with Mainland authorities, Hong Kong's Secretary for Commerce And Economic Development, Rita Lau, has announced.
Lau's remark was made in response to a question posed by the region's legislator, Lam Tai-fai, who asked whether the government will study the feasibility of "one registration, two uses" for trademarks with reference to overseas practices, establishing a mutual recognition regime for trademark registration for the Mainland and Hong Kong, and giving special protection to famous trademarks and brands.
Mrs Lau said Hong Kong's regime for intellectual property rights is in compliance with international conventions, including the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights of the World Trade Organization and the Paris Convention.
"Under these conventions, intellectual property rights protection is territorial in nature, which means member states or economies, including the Mainland and Hong Kong, are to protect and execute intellectual property rights within their jurisdictions in accordance with the provisions of their respective legal systems," she said, adding:
"The authorities responsible for handling applications for registration in the Mainland and Hong Kong will still have to process cases according to their respective trade mark registration systems, laws and regulations. Hence, we have no plans for the time being to discuss such a proposal with the Mainland authorities."
She said that under Hong Kong's current trademark registration system, a registration category for "famous trade marks" does not exist.
"Under the Paris Convention which is applicable to both the Mainland and Hong Kong, owners of trade marks which are entitled to protection as 'well-known trade marks' can enjoy the pertinent protection, even if they have not registered their trade marks in the Mainland or Hong Kong," she continued.
Mrs Lau said the government is helping enterprises enhance their understanding of the related laws and regulations in the two places and the corresponding protective measures.
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