Hong Kong Business News

Financial Secretary Paul Chan today witnessed the Government signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) on co-operation with regard to the WIPO Lex-Judgments database.

The WIPO Lex-Judgments database provides free, open access to leading judicial decisions relating to intellectual property (IP) from around the world.

Under the MoU, Hong Kong will contribute leading IP judgments from the city’s Judiciary to the database, facilitating access to such judgments by the international IP community while at the same time showcasing the quality of Hong Kong's IP-related judicial judgments.

Besides Mr Chan, WIPO Deputy Director General Wang Binying and Chief Judge of the High Court Jeremy Poon also witnessed the signing of the MoU by Director of Intellectual Property David Wong and WIPO Assistant Director General Marco Alemán.

The Chief Executive’s 2024 Policy Address announced that Hong Kong would participate in the database with the support of the Central Government.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, Mr Chan said Hong Kong’s participation in the database carries special significance.

“Under the ‘one country, two systems’ framework, Hong Kong is the only territory in China practising common law, and in both Chinese and English. Its protection of IP is widely recognised.

“As a trusted venue for resolving IP disputes involving parties from both the Mainland and abroad, our judgments serve as valuable references to the international legal community.”

Mr Chan also highlighted that Hong Kong’s strengthened collaboration with WIPO would not only enhance its role in the international exchange of jurisprudence, but also strengthen its standing as a leading regional hub for IP trading and legal services.

“By enhancing the global transparency of our IP legal regime, we provide greater confidence to international businesses and rights holders to invest and pursue innovation activities here. They can count on our reliable, world-class legal infrastructure for the commercialisation and protection of their IP assets.”

In addition, Mr Chan thanked the Central People's Government and WIPO for supporting Hong Kong’s IP initiatives over the past years, and reiterated that Hong Kong remains firmly committed to playing an active role in international IP co-operation and contributing to China's vision of becoming a global IP powerhouse by 2035.