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Weekly update

(1) Please be informed that there has been a change of name of the membership of “European Community” with the World Trade Organization to “European Union” from 1 December 2009. Applicants who wish to claim priority from “European Union”, please note the following :

Trade Marks & Designs
Applicants should fill in the name “European Union” in the field “country, territory, area”, Box 04 of Trade Mark Form T2 (paper form), or Box 10 of Design Form D1 (paper form).

For electronic Trade Mark Form T2 and Design Form D1, please continue to choose “European Trade Mark Office” in the field “country, territory, area” of Box 04 and Box 11 respectively. The name “European Union” will be displayed subsequently in the online trademark records. For designs, the code “EM” will continue to be displayed in the online design records.

The above arrangement of displaying the name “European Union” in the online trademark records as the country, territory, area of priority application will be applied to trademark applications with priority claim from OHIM (Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market) or from the former name European Community (CTM or Community Trade Mark) indicated in Trade Mark Form T2 filed on or after 1 August 2011.

Patents
The existing arrangement of filling in the name “European Patent Organization” in the field “country, territory, area”, Box 08 of both paper and electronic Patent Form P4 and Box 07 of both paper and electronic Patent Form P6 remains unchanged and the code “EP” will continue to be displayed in the online patent records.

(2) With effect from 4 April 2011, Form T8 (Request for renewal of a trade mark registration / Request for restoration and renewal of a trade mark registration) and Form T11 (Application or notice to register a licence / Request to amend or remove registered particulars of a licence) have been revised. The new forms can be downloaded at http://www.ipd.gov.hk/eng/forms_fees.htm

The Notice specifying the new Forms T8 and T11 have been published on 1 April 2011. (see attached)

(3) New online search status in Trade Mark Online Search System

A new online search status “Application Received – Application fee not paid” has been used since 4 April 2011 to indicate trade mark applications with deficiency on application fee.

(4) Update of e-filing

Upon further review, with effect from 10 May 2010, IPD has discontinued the listing of Top e-Filers’ of all electronic transactions. At the same time, the table of Top e-Filers of applications for fee-paying services using Forms T2, P4, P6 and D1 has been expanded to 20 names. The ranking of e-filers is based on volume of e-applications of T2, P4, P6 and D1 with full payment of the prescribed fees recorded in IPD’s designated information system from 1 January 2012 to 31 December 2012. Any of such e-application which is lodged and immediately cancelled with reimbursement will not be counted.

Top e-filers (based on the volume of e-filing recorded in IPD’s designated information system from 1 January 2012 to 31 December 2012)

Top e-filers of T2, P4, P6 and D1

The latest update on e-filing is as follows:

No. of e-filers (as at 6 February 2012 ) : 175 e-filers (see list attached)

Total no. of e-transactions since 31 December 2003 ( as at 6 February 2012 ) : 467,966
No. of applications filed electronically (From 1 January 2012 to 31 January 2012): -

• Applications for registration of trade marks (T2) : 63.07%
• Applications for standard patents (P4) : 60.82%
• Applications for registration of designs (D1): 62.33%

For enquiry, please call our general enquiry hotline 2961 6901 or e-filing hotline 2961 6820.

IPD
6 February 2012