Hong Kong is an arbitration-friendly city, while the government of the city keeps boosting its intellectual property system, paving the way to become an IP trading hub in Asia. In that context, the Arbitration (Amendment) Ordinance has come into effect on 1 January 2018, after it was passed by the Legislative Council on 14 June 2017. The Amendment clarifies that all disputes relating to Intellectual property rights (IPRs) can be arbitrated, whether or not the IPRs are registered, or subsist in Hong Kong.

A provisional patent application is a special type of application for patent available in the US, Australia, India and some European countries such as the UK. A provisional application can be a useful tool for applicants to manipulate certain patenting strategies for their inventions, provided that it has been used in an appropriate way. US provisional patent applications, which have been widely used since its introduction in 1995, will be taken to discuss some basic concepts of a provisional patent application.

There are three types of patent rights in China, namely invention patent, utility model and design patent. Choosing the right type of patent is crucial in order to obtain a valid protection for inventions or designs. This article will give you a brief introduction on the three types of patents with our general advice on how to select a suitable type of patent rights in China.

Inventorship is one of the key elements for a valid patent. A list of true inventors should be provided when filing a patent application. Otherwise, the patent application will likely be considered defective.

Amongst the numerous economic questions arose from the Brexit referendum, intellectual property rights is one of the most discussed topics where businesses are uncertain about what specific impact would have on the process of obtaining intellectual protection, particularly patents, in the United Kingdom and countries in the European Union.