Trademark Registration Authority in Hong Kong

The government body responsible for registration and maintenance of trademark registration is the Intellectual Property Department (IPD) of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region ( HKSAR).

Hong Kong Trade Mark Law

The trade mark law of Hong Kong is based on the Trade Marks Ordinance Cap. 559, which came into force on April 4, 2003 and repealed the Trade Mark Ordinance Cap 43. 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. The superseded law and the current law share many similarities with the relevant legislation in the United Kingdom, a similarity which is also facilitated by TRIPs.

The new law introduced various substantive and procedural changes, such as expanding the legal definition of a trademark; including or broadening protection for certification marks, collective marks, and well-known trade marks; reducing the period of non-use for revocation purpose from five to three years; and simplifying and streamlining procedures for the registration of assignments, and "registrable transactions" such as licenses.

Hong Kong Trademark Registration Procedures

Conduct pre-filing search online or request the Intellectual Property Department to carry out an official search --> Confirmation of availability (by way of search reports issued by Hong Kong IPD --> Sumission of trademark registration application forms --> Official examination of registrability --> (if accepted) Publication in Government Gazette --> (if no objections received) Issuance of Certification of Registration.

Hong Kong Trademark Pre-filing search: RMB450
(1) Per class code
(2) Search performed by Trademark Registration Office (Hong Kong Intellectual Property Department) and search results returned back by fax in1 to 2 weeks.
(3) Covers Direct Hits and Close Matches in English and Chinese

Pre-filing search is not compulsory but highly recommended.

Hong Kong Trademark Registration Filing Costs
(1) Per class code: first class code RMB3800; additional class code RMB1500
(2) Prepared and submitted in 1 weeks
(3) Clerical office actions generally answered for free
(4) Monthly follow ups of your mark through out the entire unopposed registration process (via e-mail)

Summary of Fees (first class code)
RMB450 Search (including official search fee)
RMB3,800 Registration (including official filing fee)
collection and forwarding of certificate

Time Scale

Currently it is taking approximately 6-8 months to get a trademark in Hong Kong.