I. General Overview
Area: 2754.97 square kilometers.
Population: 7.5031 million (2023). The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, abbreviated as "Hong Kong," also known as the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China, is located in southern China, east of the Pearl River Estuary. It faces Macau across the sea to the west, borders Shenzhen to the north, and borders the Wanshan Islands of Zhuhai to the south. The region encompasses Hong Kong Island, Kowloon, the New Territories, and 262 surrounding islands.
The main economic data for 2023 are as follows:
GDP: US $382.05 billion.
GDP growth rate: 4.3 %.
Currency: Hong Kong Dollar.
II. Treaty Membership
Hong Kong has not yet joined the Madrid Agreement or the Madrid Protocol, nor has it joined the Hague Agreement. Therefore, Hong Kong trademarks and designs can only be applied for directly, but patents can be applied for directly or extended from the Chinese mainland.
III. Trademark Application Procedure and Required Documents
1. Trademark Registrable Elements and Types
Elements that can be registered as trademarks in Hong Kong include: words, names, slogans, acronyms, letters, numbers, graphics or other distinctive features, the shape of goods and their packaging, color combinations, three-dimensional logos, sounds, emblems, dynamic logos, holograms, etc.
The types of trademarks that can be registered in Hong Kong include: trademarks, service marks, collective marks, certification marks and defensive marks.
Filing Routes
National filing (direct filing)
3. Required Documents
Applicant's name and address;
List of goods and/or services;
Clear representation of the mark;
If a priority is claimed, the priority country, application number and application date need to be provided. A certified copy of priority documents may be required during the examination process.
4. Application Procedure and Timeline
Filing: the 12th edition of the Nice Classification is adopted; multiple-class applications are possible; the principle of first -to-use is followed.
Examination: formal examination and substantive examination.
Publication/Opposition: An publication will be arranged after the substantive examination is passed. The opposition period is 3 months minus 1 day from the date of publication.
Registration: If everything goes well, it takes about 8 months from filing to registration.
5.Protection Period and Renewal:
The validity period is 10 years from the date of application. It can be renewed 6 months before the expiration date with a grace period of 6 months, and each renewal is valid for 10 years.
6.Assignment
Allowed for both pending and registered trademarks. Both parties' identity documents and an assignment agreement are required. The processing time is approximately 1 to 2 weeks.
7.Chang of Name/Address
Allowed for both pending and registered trademarks. A scanned copy of the proof of change is required, and the processing time is about 1 to 2 weeks.
8. Cancellation:
Non-use Cancellation: Non-use Cancellation: If a trademark has not been used for three consecutive years, any interested party may file a request for cancellation of the non-used trademark.
IV. Trademark application statistics *:
A: Statistics on total trademark applications:
2021: 35240
2022: 29432
2023: 29835
B: Statistics on trademark applications from mainland China:
2021: 5918
2022: 4712
2023: 5869
*Data source: WIPO
