Seventeenth Meeting of Guangdong/Hong Kong Expert Group on Protection of Intellectual Property Rights held in Guangzhou

     The 17th Meeting of the Guangdong/Hong Kong Expert Group on the Protection of Intellectual Property Rights was held in Guangzhou today (August 21). The Expert Group agreed to further strengthen co-operation, reinforce existing accomplishments, continue to promote the development of intellectual property (IP) trading and high-end service industry, foster regional scientific research achievements and innovative developments, and promote the further development of IP co-operation between Guangdong and Hong Kong through embracing the Belt and Road Initiative and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area development.
 
     Co-operation projects of the Expert Group for 2018-19 cover the following seven areas:
 
* Enhancing co-operation mechanisms on IP between Guangdong and Hong Kong;
* Strengthening co-operation on IP in the Bay Area;
* Reinforcing co-operation on protection of IP in both places;
* Promoting co-operation on IP trading in both places;
* Promoting exchange and deliberation on IP in both places;
* Strengthening guidance service on IP in both places; and
* Organising IP promotion and education activities in both places.
 
     At the meeting, the two sides reviewed the co-operation projects completed in the past year. With respect to promoting IP co-operation in the Bay Area, the Expert Group proactively explored the co-operation opportunities in the Bay Area through organising a wide array of activities, including exchange activities in relation to arbitration and mediation, a seminar with the theme of "Brand Development of Classic Old Shops/Time-honoured Brands", exchange activities organised in the Hengqin area of the Guangdong Pilot Free Trade Zone with the theme of "Supporting Young Entrepreneurs through High-end IP Services", and production of short promotional videos about IP commercialisation in the Bay Area. 
 
     Other completed projects include organising the Guangdong/Hong Kong Seminar on IP and Development of Small and Medium Enterprises; inviting Expert Group members and enterprises from the Guangdong side to attend the Business of IP Asia Forum co-organised by the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council and the Hong Kong Design Centre; organising exchange programmes relating to IP protection and exploitation; and organising promotion and education activities targeting the youth in both places.
 
     Key co-operation projects in the coming year include continuing to promote the development of IP trading in both places; enhancing the level and efficiency of commercialisation of scientific research achievements; organising a high-end IP symposium in the Bay Area; promoting settlement of IP disputes by arbitration or mediation; promoting collaboration of training institutes in Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao on nurturing IP talents; continuing to promote the opportunities of IP commercialisation in the Bay Area through producing short videos; and facilitating sharing of IP information.
 
     As for cross-border protection on IP, law enforcement authorities in Guangdong and Hong Kong combated cross-border infringing activities through various co-operation mechanisms, including intelligence exchange, sharing of information resources, joint operations and project co-operation. In the coming year, Customs of both places will continue to focus on combating infringing activities destined for Hong Kong or for the Belt and Road countries through Hong Kong. The two sides will mount other joint project operations in a timely manner according to changing situations.
       
     During the press conference after the meeting, the Director of Intellectual Property, Ms Ada Leung, said, "The Expert Group completed 29 co-operation items in the past year and the results were encouraging. In the coming year, there are a number of co-operation items related to IP co-operation in the Bay Area. I look forward to the two sides working more closely to complement each other for mutual benefits, and to jointly promote the innovative developments of IP in the region by seizing the unprecedented opportunities arising from the development of the Bay Area and the Belt and Road Initiative."
       
     The Director-General of the Guangdong Intellectual Property Office, Mr Ma Xianmin, said, "Since the establishment of the Guangdong/Hong Kong Expert Group on the Protection of Intellectual Property Rights in 2003, the two sides have developed a smooth and highly efficient co-operation arrangement, the Guangdong-Hong Kong IP co-operation mechanism has continued to deepen, and Guangdong-Hong Kong co-operation items have continuously been taken forward, contributing constructively to the innovative development of the two places."
 
     The Expert Group was set up after the Sixth Plenary of the Hong Kong/Guangdong Co-operation Joint Conference in August 2003. It aims at enhancing exchanges and co-operation on various aspects of IP protection, including promotion and education, training, enforcement, research study and information dissemination.
 
     The leader of the Expert Group from the Guangdong side is the Director-General of the Guangdong Intellectual Property Office, and members include officials from the Guangdong Intellectual Property Office; the Guangdong Provincial Public Security Department; the Department of Commerce of Guangdong Province; the Guangdong Province Administration for Industry and Commerce; the Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television of Guangdong Province (Administration of Copyright of Guangdong Province); the Guangdong Sub-Administration of China Customs; the Patent Examination Cooperation Center of the Patent Office, the State Intellectual Property Office, Guangdong; and the Trademark Examination Cooperation Guangzhou Center of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce of the People's Republic of China. The leader of the Expert Group from the Hong Kong side is the Director of Intellectual Property, and members include officials from the Intellectual Property Department, the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau and the Customs and Excise Department.
 
     A summary of the co-operation items has been uploaded to the website of the Intellectual Property Department (www.ipd.gov.hk/eng/ip_cooperation_corner/meeting.htm).