Hong Kong signed a deal with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) on Monday to share landmark intellectual property (IP) rulings with the United Nations agency — a move that makes the city a strong contributor to the country’s vision of becoming a global IP powerhouse by 2035.
“It’s another milestone in our engagement with the global IP community,” Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po said at the signing event marking the city’s participation in the WIPO Lex-Judgments database.
The database, launched in 2020, has now provided free and open access to more than 2,200 judicial decisions on IP from over 40 jurisdictions.
Access to important and precedent-setting cases is a valuable resource for judges, IP practitioners, policymakers and users across a more connected, transparent and coherent global IP framework.
Under the “one country, two systems” framework, the special administrative region stands as the only territory in China practicing common law, and in both Chinese and English.
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“Indeed, as a trusted venue for resolving IP disputes involving parties from both the Chinese mainland and abroad, our judgments often serve as valuable references to the international legal community,” said Chan, stressing that Hong Kong’s participation “enhances its contribution to the international exchange of jurisprudence”.
The city’s involvement in the database, he said, also consolidates its position as a regional hub for IP trading and legal services, and fosters deeper connections and collaboration with global counterparts in the IP field.
The finance chief underscored the city’s role in bolstering the country’s ambition to become a global leader in IP protection by 2035 — a goal outlined in a blueprint in 2021 to advance technological self-reliance.
