Hong Kong, as one of the regional financial centers of Asia, has been aware of the significance of a comprehensive legal framework to ensure its competence in intellectual property (IP). As Hong Kong is the only common law jurisdiction in East Asia, and one of the only four in all of Asia, numerous well-known global law firms set up IP law bases in Hong Kong, facilitating the operation of the IP law systems within Hong Kong.
IP law in Hong Kong originates from the IP laws in the UK due to British colonization for over a century until 1997. After Hong Kong’s sovereignty was returned to mainland China, various Acts related to IP has transitioned into local Ordinances. Examples include the Copyright Ordinance, the Prevention of Copyright Privacy Ordinance, the Trade Marks Ordinance, the Trade Descriptions Ordinance, the Patents Ordinance, etc.1 Articles 139 and 140 of the Basic Law of Hong Kong (Hong Kong’s “constitution”), state that the government of Hong Kong is obliged to formulate policies to protect IP in Hong Kong, recognizing the importance of IP in Hong Kong2. Together, these regulations form the backbone of Hong Kong’s IP law. In particular, the Copyright Ordinance stipulates that the maximum penalty for infringement of copyright is a fine of HK$50,000 (approx. US$6,430) per infringing copy and imprisonment for four years.3
The laws in Hong Kong protect a wide variety of IP, including literary works, dramatic works, musical works, artistic works, sound recordings, films, broadcasts, cable programs, typographical arrangements of published editions, etc.4 The government of Hong Kong also has specialized governmental departments dealing with intellectual property policies and other related matters – the Intellectual Property Department advises the Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development on intellectual property and operates the Trade Marks, Patents, Registered Designs and Copyright Licensing Bodies Registries; while the Customs & Excise Department is responsible for enforcing the criminal aspects of the law, and is legally vested with greater powers, such as of search and seizure.2
Hong Kong is also a signatory (as a WTO member in its own right) of the WTO - TRIPS Agreement2. It is also regulated by various other IP international treaties as applied to China, including the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works, the Universal Copyright Convention, the Nice Agreement concerning the International Classification of Goods and Services for the purposes of the Registration of Marks, the Geneva Convention for the Protection of Producers of Phonograms Against Unauthorised Duplication of Their Phonograms, the Patent Cooperation Treaty, the Convention establishing the World Intellectual Property Organization, the WIPO Copyright Treaty, and the WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty5.
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