Hong Kong is a desirable location to enforce your IP rights in case if infringement occurs in Hong Kong or parties agree that the Hong Kong SAR be the jurisdiction for resolving their IP dispute.

Hong Kong has a sound and sophisticated legal system with expert legal professionals who are experienced and highly skilled in the protection and enforcement of IP rights.

The common law system, which is used by and familiar to many of our trading partners, is practiced in Hong Kong.

Parties can freely choose to use English as the medium to conduct any proceedings in the Hong Kong SAR to determine the IP rights subject to dispute.

If infringement of IP rights is established, a court in the Hong Kong SAR can make any of the following orders:

  1. Injunction
    This is an order requiring the infringer to cease infringing your IP.

  2. Damages
    This is an order requiring the infringer to make financial compensation to you for the infringing conduct that occurred.

  3. Account of profits
    This is an order requiring the infringer to pay you all the profits that it earned as a result of the infringing conduct. Depending on the case, the amount of profits accounted for may be greater than the damages that have been awarded by the court.

Other modes of enforcement

The Customs and Excise Department of the Government of the Hong Kong SAR (“the C&E”) is the enforcement agency in Hong Kong which is empowered for criminal enforcement of trade mark and copyright infringement. It investigates complaints alleging trade mark and copyright infringement as well as complaints alleging false trade descriptions. The C&E has extensive powers of search and seizure. It also cooperates with overseas enforcement authorities and owners of trade marks and copyright to combat infringement of IP rights in a concerted effort.

In accordance with the obligations of the Hong Kong SAR under the World Trade Organization Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights, the C&E will help IP rights owners to enforce their rights in relation to copyright and trade mark goods through border enforcement measures.