The Patents Registry of the Intellectual Property Department has granted the first standard patent under the original grant patent system (OGP) this week. The Original Grant Patent System was launched in December 2019 as part of a push to make Hong Kong an Intellectual Property regional center. The OGP system creates a direct route for inventors to obtain standard patent protection in Hong Kong for a maximum term of 20 years. Previously, the only way to get IP protection in Hong Kong was by re-registration of a patent previously granted in another jurisdiction. The first standard patent by original grant was for an invention related to the use of artificial intelligence to manage inventory in an e-commerce system. As of May 31, 2021, the Patents Registry had received a total of 426 OGP applications, of which 33% were submitted by Hong Kong residents or enterprises and 67% were from non-local applicants. The Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Mr. Edward Yau said “The launch and continued development of the OGP system is one of the strategic measures that the Hong Kong Government is pursuing to ensure that the local patent system advances with the times and meets the needs of Hong Kong’s innovation and technology and the creative industries, and in turn, our long-term economic development.”
Thursday, July 29 2021 \ Published by Deep & Far Attorneys-at-law.