In order to protect their own inventions and creations, such as electronic products, furniture, household items, etc., applicants can consider applying for designs. The design system in Hong Kong is similar to that in other countries. In Hong Kong, an application may be filed for an article's pattern, ornament, shape, and configuration.
(Tips: Hong Kong design only protects the appearance, and cannot protect the principle of its operation. If you want to protect internal technical principles, you need to submit a Hong Kong standard patent or short-term patent. These two types of Hong Kong patent systems, you can check it:-https://www.patentanddesignltd.com/post/filing_a_hong_kong_patent)
If you need further assistance to check whether you can apply for a patent, you can contact our professionals:-
Email: admin@patentanddesignltd.com
WhatsApp/ WeChat: +852-61496293
1. Duration of the design in Hong Kong
Design protection in Hong Kong has longer-term (much more than 10 years in China), and the maximum protection term in Hong Kong is 25 years, which is renewed every 5 years. Therefore, the applicant needs to keep in mind the renewal period. If the renewal is after 5 years, the applicant can easily forget this long period of time, and the design will be suspended due to the overdue payment of the annual fee. However, we will remind our clients to pay the fee and there is no additional charge.
2. Application materials (the most important scope of protection)
Submit the Chinese and English names of the article. The name is generally the name that accurately identifies the protection being requested.
For designs in Hong Kong, photos or line drawings can be submitted. Photos need to clearly show the appearance of the product, while line drawings generally only need to clearly show the appearance of the product. There are no special regulations. Unlike the design of the United States, the lines need to have certain thickness restrictions or shadows, etc.
Generally, it is best to submit six/seven views, namely the Front view, Rear view, Left view, Right view, Top view, Bottom view, and Perspective view, so that you can fully display the shape of the product at different angles. Of course, the Hong Kong Intellectual Property Department can also accept an application for one view only, but if the applicant wants to get better protection, it is recommended to protect it from multiple angles.
We have also successfully applied for different products, such as drones, electric hot water boilers, sports brackets, etc., and provided pictures from different angles for the best protection.
3. Examination and official fees
Designs in Hong Kong are subject to a formal examination system, that is, only a preliminary examination will be carried out on the application submitted.
The examination takes about 3 months to complete.
Information can be viewed on our website:
How much does an industrial design cost in Hong Kong?
HK$940 (Official fee: including application fee, announcement fee, certificate fee.) Each additional item is HK$640,
If the two items belong to the same <<Locarno classification>>, it is generally the same application, and one more item can be added.
4. Claiming foreign priority
If the applicant wants to claim priority, he only needs to provide a copy of the priority document, that is, a scanned copy, without submitting the original. For example, in the US design, there are 4 designs in the same application, and the Hong Kong design can only claim one of the designs, such as only two of them can be claimed, and there is no need to specifically explain to the Hong Kong Intellectual Property Department.
(Tips: The priority right of Hong Kong design is 6 months, or you can submit the priority right's national application number and filing date first, and then submit the scanned copy of the priority document.)
All in all, when applying for industrial design in Hong Kong, you need to pay attention to the drawings of the object to be applied for, because this is the scope of protection, you should pay more attention when taking pictures or submitting line drawings, or provide it to professionals for evaluation. In addition, it is also necessary to pay attention to the time limit for claiming priority and provide a scanned copy of the priority. Finally, after successful approval, it is necessary to keep in mind that the renewal fee will be charged after 5 years.
If you have any questions, you can contact us:-
Email: admin@patentanddesignltd.com
WhatsApp/ WeChat: +852-61496293