Hong Kong's Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po (front) delivers his annual budget speech at the Legislative Council in Hong Kong on Feb 28, 2024. (CALVIN NG / CHINA DAILY)
As Hong Kong strives to become a global innovation and technology hub, it’s essential to provide corresponding high-level legal protection for intellectual property to create a favorable environment for the technology sector by incentivizing research and development, and application.
Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po made the remarks in his Sunday blog, saying breakthroughs in frontier technologies require a substantial investment of funds and talent resources in basic research, technology transfer, innovation and application.
Citing exchanges with many technology firms that have set up businesses in Hong Kong, Chan said one of the main reasons for their presence in the special administrative is the belief that the city’s legal system, rule of law, professional services, and protection of intellectual property rights enable them to protect their technologies and products through patents when expanding into the international market.
“It can be said that consolidating and enhancing the system of intellectual property protection in Hong Kong and promoting the management, commercialization, and trade of intellectual property will enable Hong Kong to leverage its advantages and thrive in the high-value-added segments of the entire innovation and technology industry chain,” he said.
In his 2024-25 Budget, Chan announced multiple measures to expedite the establishment of a regional intellectual property trading center in Hong Kong, which is expected to complement the city’s position as an international innovation and technology hub
The focus of global intellectual property has shifted towards Asia in recent years, the finance chief said, noting that China had nearly five million valid invention patents by the end of last year, ranking first worldwide in terms of quantity.
In the Global Innovation Index 2023 published by the World Intellectual Property Organization, which analyzes factors such as patent applications and scientific paper publications, the “Shenzhen-Hong Kong-Guangzhou”technology cluster has been ranked as the second most intensive region for innovation and technology activities globally for four consecutive years.
The SAR’s Intellectual Property Department has granted more than 10,000 standard patent registrations annually from 2021 to 2023, representing an increase of over 50 percent, compared to the average annual registration volume of the previous decade.
“This demonstrates that Hong Kong’s upstream innovation and technology ecosystem is becoming more vibrant, and there is enormous market potential for intellectual property trading,” Chan said.
In his 2024-25 Budget, Chan announced multiple measures to expedite the establishment of a regional intellectual property trading center in Hong Kong, which is expected to complement the city’s position as an international innovation and technology hub.
These Initiatives include building a technology and innovation support center and offering tax incentives for profits generated from patents.
The finance chief said Hong Kong is stepping up efforts to facilitate the trading of intellectual property in the cultural and creative industry.
Regarding cooperation with the Chinese mainland, the HKSAR government will continue to work closely with the China National Intellectual Property Administration in various aspects, including enhancing the training of patent examiners.
Exchanges and cooperation with sister cities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area will also be promoted, such as facilitating cross-boundary applications for intellectual property registrations.
