Report

Chapter 3 : Regulation of Patent Agency Services in Hong Kong (55 submissions received)
10. Should Hong Kong have a regulatory regime for professionals providing patent agency services? Should the promulgation of a
regulatory regime or otherwise be made dependent on whether an OGP system is to be implemented in Hong Kong?
LESC-HK opines that the promulgation of the regulatory regime should be
independent of whether an OGP system is to be implemented in Hong Kong. This
is because a patent applicant would very much rely on the expertise of the patent
attorney/agent to ensure his patent application is properly drafted and professional
and knowledgeable expertise would be provided on patent filing strategy.
10.2 Professional Bodies
HKIPA
HIPP
HKITMP
HKIPA supports the promulgation of a regulatory regime for providers of patent
agency services.
HIPP supports the promulgation of a regulatory regime for patent practitioners and
patent agency services in order to ensure that proprietary information of inventors is
protected and a reliable standard of patent agency services is maintained.
APAA
The Law Society
HKITMP is of the view that introduction of a regulatory regime for patent
practitioners should not be considered dependent upon the introduction of an OGP
system in Hong Kong.
HKITMP emphasises that if a regulatory regime for patent practitioners is to be set
up, any such regulation should be “light touch regulation”.
APAA considers that some form of regulation of those providing services as patent
agents and/or patent attorneys is required, irrespective of whether or not an OGP
system is introduced in Hong Kong, but the nature and extent of the regulation will
depend in part on whether there is an OGP system.
The Law Society points out that titles such as “patent attorneys” and “patent agents”
are largely understood by the international community as protected titles with
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