GUIDED READING：

With the publication and implementation of the Outline of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Development Plan, it has become an important consensus to gradually and comprehensively strengthen the protection of intellectual property rights in the Guangdong-Hong Kong, Guangdong-Macao and Pan-Pearl River Delta regional intellectual property cooperation mechanisms to optimize the business environment. In order to facilitate enterprises interested in developing business in Hong Kong, China (hereinafter referred to as the "Hong Kong Region") to carry out effective intellectual property protection, this paper reviews the trademark application and registration process in Hong Kong in detail, and explains the common problems in the application and registration.

Trademark registration in Hong Kong region takes about 6 months from application to registration without the process of correction and/or refusal and objection. The following is a schematic diagram of the trademark registration application process published on the website of the Intellectual Property Department of Hong Kong.

As can be seen from the diagram above, the application of trademarks in Hong Kong China is similar to China mainland. The following is a detailed introduction to each step of the process and precautions.

I.

 File a trademark registration application in Hong Kong region, you need to complete the Trade Mark Form T2, which can be submitted by post or electronically.

 File a trademark registration application, you need to provide the applicant's name, address, trademark (JPG format), specified goods/services. Chinese or Roman characters are acceptable, non-Chinese or Roman characters need to provide transliteration or translation.

 If the applicant's name and address are not in Chinese or Roman characters, a translation of the Roman characters is required. U.S. applicants need to indicate the state in which the company is incorporated.

 Acceptable trademarks include, text, graphics, combined trademarks, color trademarks, 3D stereoscopic trademarks, sound trademarks, odor trademarks, dynamic trademarks, holograms, etc. Trademark samples, if you need to protect the color of the trademark, you need to provide color trademark samples. For a series of trademarks, no more than four; If the trademark contains non-Roman or non-Chinese characters, a transliteration or translation of the trademark is required. Other unconventional trademarks such as color trademarks, 3D stereoscopic trademarks, etc., need to provide specific descriptions.

 Goods/Service, can refer to the Nice Classification, the official website of the Intellectual Property Department also has a reference description, but the description of the goods/services listed on the official website is not completely listed, therefore, it is recommended to refer to the official list of goods and services for their own submission, the examiner will issue corrections if he or she finds any that do not meet the standards. Goods/services should be separated by semicolons when completing the Trade Mark Form T2.

 Regarding the Priority, a trademark application may declare the priority of an earlier trademark filed within six months by a member of the Paris Convention or a member of the WTO. Different goods or services may claim different priorities.

 If the mark is a collective mark or certification mark, the relevant rules must be filed within 9 months of the filing date.

 If the mark is a Defensive registration, a statutory declaration or affidavit must be filed within 9 months of the filing date. Defensive trademarks are generally applicable to trademarks with high reputation in Hong Kong region.

II

This stage mainly examines whether the application form is complete and correct, and whether the attached information is complete. If any incomplete or further documentation is required, the applicant should submit the correction within 2 months from the date of notification. At this stage, some problems do not affect the filing date of the trademark, but some cases will affect the filing date of the trademark, such as not providing the trademark sample.

III

When all the trademark information is complete and in accordance with the regulations, the examiner will conduct a substantive examination of the trademark application, that is, the examination of absolute grounds and the examination of relative grounds. Such as， whether the trademark is distinctive; whether the trademark is a trade term; whether there are prior similar trademarks and so on.

IV

According to the Trademark regulations in Hong Kong region, if the trademark is rejected, the applicant needs to submit the rejection review within 6 months. This period can be extended by 3 months. If it is refused on relative grounds, needs to negotiate with the owner of the cited trademark, or the cited trademark is invalid, and the revocation procedure needs to wait for the result, etc., it can be extended for a maximum of three times, each time for three months. An application for a hearing may be made during the review period.

V

After the approval of the trademark examination, the announcement will be arranged, and the announcement period is 3 months. Announcement information can refer to  https://www.ipd.gov.hk/eng/ip_journal.htm 

VI

After the trademark is opposed, the trademark applicant may choose to reply or withdraw the trademark application. The respondent is required to submit a counter-statement within 3 months of receiving the notice, which can be extended by 2 months. If the applicant does not submit an application for reply or extension, the application for trademark registration will be considered withdrawn.

If the trademark applicant files a reply, the opposing party is required to submit evidence within 6 months of receiving the reply. If the opposing party fails to submit evidence within the time limit, the objection shall be deemed withdrawn. The trademark applicant shall submit additional evidence through a statutory declaration within 6 months after the filing of the counter-statement.

Finally, if the trademark is withdrawn or the opposition is judged to be successful, the trademark applicant needs to bear the relevant costs of the opponent.

VII

After registration, the trademark shall be valid for ten years from the date of application.