(Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China)

(WIPO code: HK) (last revised March 2024)

by WENPING PATENT & TRADEMARK AGENT LTD., Hong Kong - Ms Kanina LAI

General Information

Area

1,114.57 sq. km.

Population

7,503,100 (2023).

Official Languages

Chinese and English.

Currency

Hong Kong dollar.

General Remarks

Economic conditions

The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region is an industrial, financial and distribution center in the Far East. Its major exports are articles of apparel, clothing accessories, textile fabric, toys and dolls, watches and clocks, electronic components and parts for computers and household type electrical and non-electrical equipment. 

The Hong Kong economy continued to recover in the fourth quarter of 2023. According to the advance estimates, real GDP grew by 3.2% over a year earlier. Hong Kong's property and stock markets are somehow in a difficult position due to rise of interest rate and geopolitical tensions between the United States and China. It is expected that the Hong Kong Government will take a number of measures to stabilize the situation and perhaps to revive Hong Kong status as an East meets West center.

Political conditions

On July 1, 2017, the National Development and Reform Commission of China, the People's Government of Guangdong Province, the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the Government of the Macao Special Administrative Region signed the Framework Agreement on Deepening Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Cooperation in the Development of the Greater Bay Area ("the Agreement"). And immediately after the signing of the agreement, the development of the Greater Bay Area ("GBA") was officially launched. The GBA comprises of the two Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and Macao and nine municipalities in Guangdong province. This region covers an area of around 56,000 sq. km. In 2019 the total population of this region came to 72 million with a total GDP of U.S.$ 1.7 trillion and per capital GDP of U.S.$ 23,371. The GBA project is one of the key strategic initiatives adopted by the Chinese government with a view to linking and reinforcing the roles of Hong Kong, Macao and the nine municipalities in Guangdong, and transforming this region to be a first-class bay area and world-class city cluster ideally for living, working and travelling.

The National Security Law came in force on June 30, 2020. Recent court cases will certainly bring precedents and guidelines on how the law is being interpreted and implemented in Hong Kong.

 

Statistics (as at December 31, 2023)  
Standard patents granted (R) 10,815
Standard patents granted (OGP) 51
Short-term patents granted 516
Designs registered 3,390
Trademarks registered 29,835

Total number of registered trademarks on the Register on December 31, 2023: 494,355.