Hong Kong

 

 

Two types of patents exist, one is a standard patent and the other is a short-term patent.  The life time of a standard patent is 20 years from the date of registration while the life time of a short-term patent is 8 years from the date of registration.

 

The prequisite for filing a standard patent application in Hong Kong is a prior patent application filed in one of three patent offices, also known as the 'designated patent offices', which include:

 

• the State Intellectual Property Office, People's Republic of China

• the European Patent Office, in respect of a patent designating the United Kingdom

• the United Kingdom Patent Office.

 

A standard patent application in Hong Kong consists of two stages, which are:

 

• a request to record the designated patent application, that is the Chinese, EP(UK) or UK published patent application (stage 1); and

• a request for registration and grant in Hong Kong, China of the Chinese, EP(UK) or UK granted patent (stage 2).

 

The prequisite for the granting of a short-term patent application in Hong Kong is based on a search report issued by an international searching authority or one of three designated patent offices.

 

The applications for both the short-term patent and the standard patent can be filed in either Chinese or English.

 

For your further reference please find the information sheet for Hong Kong patent applications.