16.09.2026

The First Five-Year Plan for Economic and Social Development (2026 – 2030)

Develop a Regional Intellectual Property Trading Centre

To ensure that our Intellectual Property (IP) protection mechanism aligns with international rules, we will continue to enhance our IP regime (particularly in the four key areas of copyright, trade marks, patents, and registered designs). We will advance the extension of suitable international IP treaties to Hong Kong in an orderly manner, so as to enhance the international alignment and overall competitiveness of Hong Kong’s IP regime. We will deepen our cross‑boundary facilitation measures for, among others, providing enquiry services in more Mainland cities, fostering business collaboration, and facilitating cross‑boundary protection, etc., so as to fast‑track the processing of eligible cross‑boundary applications for registration, so that applicants may enjoy protection in a more timely manner.

To foster innovation development, we will deepen the reform of the patent system, so that the system may provide more effective support for the protection, technology transformation, commercialisation, and industrialisation of R&D outcomes.

Patent System Reform

Facilitating original grant patent applications in key technology areas

• Explore further facilitation for original grant patent applications for inventions under key technology areas (including emerging industries such as life and health technology, AI and data science, as well as advanced manufacturing and new energy, etc.).

Empowering enterprise development through enhancing patent system

• Explore ways to reform the short-term patent system and increase the attractiveness of the original grant patent system.

Encouraging and promoting R&D and innovation relating to pharmaceutical manufacturing

• Explore feasible measures to enhance the patent system, so as to support the development of biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries, thereby encouraging and advancing R&D and innovation activities relating to pharmaceutical manufacturing.

Enhancing in-house examination capacity for original grant patent applications

• Continue to develop our team of patent examiners to enhance the in-house examination capacity for original grant patent applications, targeting to acquire institutional autonomy in conducting substantive examination of patent applications in major technology fields in 2030.
• Expand our team of patent examiners to a scale recognised under the Patent Cooperation Treaty.
• Plan for and advance the regulatory arrangements for local patent agency services so that such services will be more regulated and professional.

We shall develop a thriving and sound IP trading ecosystem. We will advance pilot projects in collaboration with financial and professional services institutions to explore IP financing modes, so as to channel capital into IP‑intensive industries such as I&T, cultural and creative industries, etc. Through institutional innovation and policy support, we will develop an IP trading hub where the cost is low and the liquidity is high, encouraging enterprises to centralise their management and exploitation of IP in Hong Kong. With the soon‑to‑be‑established IP Academy, we will more systemically nurture talent with knowledge in the creation, protection, management, financing, utilisation, and commercialisation of IP for various IP‑intensive industries, thereby creating stronger impetus for growth within the ecosystem. We will continue to strengthen promotion and exchanges at international and regional levels, deepen collaboration with the Mainland, and support Mainland enterprises in making use of Hong Kong as an IP trading platform to go global.

Take Forward “Finance + Intellectual Property (IP)”

With the use of the IP Financing Sandbox, we will integrate IP into the financial services system in support of IP value transformation, further unleashing the potential of IP as a new economic development impetus.

Strengthen financing support for innovative enterprises to better meet their practical needs in areas of capital operation, R&D, business expansion, etc.

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