In order to obtain protection as registered trademarks in Hong Kong, trademarks must be registered under the Trade Marks Ordinance (Chapter 559) and the Trade Marks Rules (Chapter 559A).
A straight forward trademark registration will usually take 6-8 months and the valid period of a registered trademark in Hong Kong S.A.R. is 10 years.
Details Required
To proceed the trademark application for registration in Hong Kong, no power of attorney nor legalization of documents is required. However, please provide us the following information:
Search
To ensure your proposed trademark has not been registered in Hong Kong, we will conduct an unofficial preliminary search before any action taken. Apart from the unofficial search, you have the option to obtain an official preliminary advice on registrability and an official search report issued by the Hong Kong Trade Marks Registry as to whether in its opinion there is any conflicting prior mark. The official report will be available in 8 working days. The opinion will be given by an examiner on the official letterhead of the Intellectual Property Department of the Hong Kong Government.
If the official search result is positive but the application is rejected the examiner contrary to the official search report, the application fee will be refunded.
Procedure
When we have received your application, we will issue a confirmation letter which summarizes the details and specification of the application for your final checking. Please confirm the application by signing on the letter and return to us by fax or email. The application will be filed within 2 working days of receiving the signed confirmation letter, and we will report the filing with a copy of the official filing receipt and the invoice for your settlement. In 3 working days, you can check the existence of the received application through the Registryˇ¦s internet search system website http://ipsearch.ipd.gov.hk.
There are 4 stages in the process of examining an application for registration:
If there is no deficiency in your application and all requirements for registration are met, the application will be accepted for registration. If there is no opposition to the trademark application by a third party within the three-month opposition period from the publication date, the whole registration process may take as short as six months from the date of receipt of application as pledged by Hong Kong Trade Marks Registry.
However, if the Trade Marks Registry does not approve the application and raise objections, it is possible to raise counter objections and persuade the Trademark Registry to withdraw their objections. The application in such situation will take more than 6 months as discussing these objections and counter objections will take considerable time. Otherwise, you may abandon the pending application at no extra-cost.
Validity period of registration
Upon registration, a trademark will last for a period of 10 years dating back to the filing date and can be renewed indefinitely for successive periods of 10 years.
Convention Priority
If you have filed an application in another WTO or Paris Convention country within the last half year, then there is a choice of claiming a right to priority. The application filed should include the following particulars:
Convention documents need not be submitted to the Trade Marks Registry. The Registry will usually require the convention documents only where there is a potential conflict between the applied-for mark and an earlier filed application.
However, please note the priority date does not determine the date of registration of a trademark but is to establish which rights take precedence where there are conflicting applications. A trademark applied for is registered as of the filing date of the application for registration. It does not date back to the date of the convention application or WTO application.
Please download application form here.
If you require more information, please contact us at:
| Telephone | : (852) 2384 2288 |
| Fax | : (852) 3011 3245 |
| : info@ebrand.com.hk | |
| Address | : Unit 1501, Jubilee Centre, 46 Gloucester Road, Wan Chai, Hong Kong. |