Hong Kong to Launch Original Grant Patent (OGP) System in December 2019

Hong Kong is going to see some milestone development of its patent system, the major reform of which is the introduction of an original grant patent (OGP) system that offers an alternative route of seeking standard patent protection in the territory. According to the Patents (Amendment) Ordinance 2016 and the Patents (General) (Amendment) Rules 2019 gazetted on 11 October 2019, the new patent system will come into operation on 19 December 2019.

 

Under the new patent system, patent applicants will have the option of filing standard patent applications directly in Hong Kong, without prior filing of the applications with one of the three designated patent offices outside Hong Kong as required under the existing "re-registration" system.

 

Apart from the introduction of an OGP system, the existing short-term patent (STP) system will also be refined. The new patent system aims at facilitating the development of Hong Kong as an innovation and IP trading hub.