Benefits of registered trademark
Trademark is a symbol that distinguishes goods and service of one trader from those of others. When you register your trademark it becomes a valuable intellectual property asset for your company. Registration is prima facie evidence that the registered mark is valid; the registrant owns the mark and has the exclusive right to use the mark in commerce. The owner of the trademark can prevent a person or entity from using the same or confusingly similar mark without its consent. The registrant of the mark can sue violators for trademark infringement in the court and may obtain indemnification. If you do not register your trademark, you increase the risk your rights being violated. The bundle of rights associated with a registered trademark gives the registrant considerable power to protect its rights effectively.
However it is comparatively difficult to register a trademark in China as the right to register is granted on first-come-first-serve basis. We suggest that you should register your trademark as early as possible to protect your intellectual capital rights in China.
Trademark Services
Our services include trademark registration, change of trademark ownership, removal of registration and helping to request indemnification in case of infringement.
Benefits of patent protection
A patent protects your invention by giving you, the patent owner, a legal right to prevent others from manufacturing, using, selling or importing your patented invention. Alternatively, you can choose to let others use it under agreed terms. A patent also brings the right to take legal action against others who might be infringing the invention and to claim damages. The mere existence of a patent may be enough to deter a potential infringer. Therefore applying for patent protection is a very effective business strategy as it provides breathing space to develop a business based on the invention, or another person or company may be allowed to exploit the invention and pay royalties under a licensing agreement.
There are two types of patent in the HKSAR
" standard and
" short-term
Protection under standard patents is renewable annually for a maximum term of 20 years. Protection under short-term patents is renewable after four years from filing, for a maximum term of eight years
Patent Services
We can help in applying for standard or short-term patent, patent license and patent transfer, patent litigation and in other patent related issues.
Benefits of registered design
A design refers to the appearance of the whole or a part of a product resulting from the features of, in particular, the lines, contours, colours, shape, texture or materials of the product or its ornamentation. The design that has to be registered should exhibit creativity and individualism and there should be no same or similar design into existence at the time of registration.
Design registration gives the owner a monopoly on their product design, i.e. the right for a limited period to stop others from making, using or selling a product to which the design has been applied, or in which it has been incorporated, without their permission and is additional to any design right or copyright protection that may exist automatically in the design.
The design of a product can be synonymous with the branding and image of a company and can become an asset to them with a monetary value that could increase. Registering it empowers you to take legal action against others who might be infringing the design and to claim damages. Also the owner of the design can add words like "Registered" or "TM" on the packaging of the products in order to raise confidence among customers.
Design Services
We can help you in design registration, design transfer, design litigation and other design related issues.
Introducing new Authorized Client Scheme
In order to protect and promote your Intellectual Property assets, IPM now introduces a new Authorized Client Scheme. Once you join our scheme, you can enjoy following services:
- unlimited preliminary telephone enquiry services
- receive the latest IP news regularly
- receive analysis of IP violation cases by experienced ex-customs officers
- register one trademark without paying the handling fee
- get one fixed-point, fixed-product monitoring service
- discounts on other services
