International Agreements to which Hong Kong, China is a party

Intellectual property laws are domestic. For example, a right given under Hong Kong SAR law only applies in the Hong Kong SAR. However, various international conventions require member countries or economies to recognise rights of persons from the other member countries. The main international intellectual property conventions which have been applied to the Hong Kong SAR by the People's Republic of China are:

• the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property;
• the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works;
• the Universal Copyright Convention;
• the Nice Agreement concerning the International Classification of Goods and Services for the purposes of the Registration of Marks;
• the Geneva Convention for the Protection of Producers of Phonograms Against Unauthorised Duplication of Their Phonograms;
• the Patent Cooperation Treaty;
• the Convention establishing the World Intellectual Property Organisation (“WIPO”);
• the WIPO Copyright Treaty;
• the WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty; and
• the Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons Who Are Blind, Visually Impaired, or Otherwise Print Disabled.

Hong Kong, China is a member of the World Trade Organisation in its own right, and our intellectual property protection system meets the standards set out in the WTO TRIPS Agreement.