IP Seminar - Hong Kong Original Grant Patent System: Striving Innovation and IP Protection
New Patent System in Hong Kong
On 19 December 2019, the HKSAR Government launched the new patent system in Hong Kong. The new patent system essentially comprises an original grant patent (OGP) system which creates a direct route for seeking standard patent protection in Hong Kong with a maximum term of 20 years, as an alternative to the existing "re-registration" route. OGP applications are subject to substantive examination by the Patents Registry of the Intellectual Property Department (IPD) of the Government for determining the patentability of the underlying inventions.
In this seminar, senior patent examiners from the IPD will provide an overview of the new patent system in Hong Kong. They will focus on the latest developments, filing procedures, formality and substantive examination criteria for OGP applications, and the advantages of filing OGP applications. In addition, they will share the relevant statistics on OGP applications.
Dr. Dawna Kwan obtained her Ph.D. degree in Biochemistry from The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology under the supervision of Prof. Yung Hou Wong. She joined the Intellectual Property Department of the HKSAR Government in 2018. She participated in the preparatory work for the launch of the new patent system on 19 December 2019 and was responsible for the formality and substantive examination of original grant patent applications and examination of short-term patents in the chemical and biochemical fields. She is now holding the post of Senior Patent Examiner (Strategy) and her current role is to assist and provide support to the strategic development of the OGP team.
Dr. Kwan is also qualified to practice as a Chinese Patent Attorney. Prior to joining the Intellectual Property Department, she worked as a patent associate and specialized in drafting and prosecuting patent applications around the world as well as providing strategic advice on patent filing.
Dr. Hugo Luo graduated with a Ph.D. degree in Bioengineering from The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology in 2011 under the supervision of Prof. I-Ming Hsing. He then worked in an IP agency firm where he was responsible for drafting and prosecuting patent applications. Since joining the Intellectual Property Department of the HKSAR Government as a senior patent examiner in 2018, Dr. Luo has been involved in the implementation of the new patent system, as well as the formality and substantive examination of original grant patent applications.