CHINA (HONG KONG BAR): An Introduction to Intellectual Property: The Bar

Hong Kong and China’s Greater Bay Area 

As is well known, the Greater Bay Area (GBA) is China’s tech hub and economic growth engine.

As the most international city and the only common law jurisdiction in the GBA, we believe that Hong Kong is in a unique position to provide IP owners and users with a dynamic and stable commercial and legal environment in which to transact business in the GBA. In the last 25 years, Hong Kong has earned a growing reputation as a regional hub for IP trading and innovation. Among other things, it hosts the annual Business IP Asia Forum, one of the largest global IP conferences attended by thousands of professionals, agents and businesspeople from around the world.

Looking forward to 2023, we are most gratified to see China and the rest of the world gradually recover from the severe and prolonged disruption brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. What opportunities lie ahead in the process of normalisation? What are the risks and challenges that IP practitioners need to be wary of?

IP in the post-COVID world 

In the post-COVID world, instantaneous electronic communication is the norm. People spend more and more of their time online and in the virtual world. Online shopping has ballooned to a mammoth scale, especially among Mainland Chinese citizens who have endured the longest period of lockdown known to the world. Mobile technology now plays a key part in most citizens’ daily lives. In the wake of the pandemic, it is not surprising that there is much pent-up demand for travel, luxury spending and physical entertainment.

On the bright side, the eagerly awaited reopening of China’s borders will rejuvenate cross-border IP transactions as well as the flow of capital in and out of China. Located at Mainland China’s doorstep, Hong Kong will play an important role in the revitalisation process. Riding on a thriving fintech industry, lawyers and intermediaries in the IP sphere are well-positioned to put their knowledge and skills to use in the cutting-edge areas of e-commerce, AI, cryptocurrencies and new forms of digital assets. At the same time, we may expect to see a greater push to update legislation in trade mark and copyright law to catch up with such trends, not only in the physical world but also in the “Metaverse”. We also foresee a tighter regulatory environment to grow up around the business of digital currencies.

In the years to come, the pandemic will remain a sombre reminder of the importance of R&D in the pharmaceutical field. However, investment in R&D would not be forthcoming without the incentive provided by a robust system of patent grant and enforcement. A good example is the development of COVID vaccines. Whilst patent rights are granted to reward the innovative efforts of inventors, there is a strong interest in maintaining public health and fostering competition. Here we see a potential clash between traditional patent law and Hong Kong’s nascent competition law, which sooner or later will manifest itself in litigation in this part of the world.

The future of IP dispute resolution 

In the space of dispute resolution, lawyers and clients can confidently expect to see an uptrend in technology-related cases involving disputes over biotech, e-commerce and transactions in non-fungible tokens (NFTs). Quite a few cases have already been successfully resolved by the Hong Kong High Court which, since 2019, has established a specialist IP list overseen by an assigned judge in charge. As is commonly known, the current incumbent is a firm believer in speedy case management in disputes involving IP rights. Based on what we have seen and experienced, we have no doubt that the court’s caseload will grow, together with the variety of IP cases that will come before it in 2023 and beyond.

One of the positive outcomes of the pandemic has been the proliferation and common adoption of online platforms (such as ZOOM) in litigation and ADR. This has come initially in response to the imposition of travel restrictions by many countries around the world, but has now become a default feature in many quarters. While legal practitioners around the world have swiftly embraced this development, the courts in Hong Kong have lagged behind those in other jurisdictions.

Trends in international arbitration and mediation

By contrast, international arbitration has adapted almost overnight to the use of remote hearings. Gone are the days when witnesses, arbitrators, interpreters, transcribers, clients and their lawyers had to book business class flights and expensive accommodation to meet at foreign conference centres, with all the attendant costs and potential for disruption. We fully anticipate this trend to continue, which in turn will encourage greater use of arbitration to resolve IP disputes, particularly those featuring international or cross-border elements.

Apart from this, arbitration has many advantages not enjoyed by litigation. For example, parties can in principle agree to resolve all their patent disputes, including validity issues, in a single forum. The same arbitral tribunal can adjudicate on any number of national patents, without the need to litigate in the court of each jurisdiction. In Hong Kong, the legislature has recently approved the use of outcome-related fee structures for lawyers engaged in Hong Kong-seated arbitrations. Together with the possibility of third-party funding, this welcome change will no doubt enhance access to justice and further solidify Hong Kong’s status as an arbitration hub.

In addition, parties to an arbitration can take advantage of a legislative reform, passed in 2017, which enables IP disputes of almost any nature to be resolved by arbitration in Hong Kong. As a result of this, the courts in Hong Kong will not refuse recognition or enforcement of an award solely on the basis that the award contains a declaration of the validity (or invalidity) of IP rights such as a patent. We are therefore hopeful that more and more parties will be willing to submit their IP disputes to resolution by arbitration.

Last but not least, we must not overlook the increasingly popular use of mediation as an alternative to arbitration and litigation. Mediation is particularly useful in IP cases where the parties have a need to maintain ongoing business relationships and reach a quick settlement of their disputes. The importance of international mediation is bound to rise further after the signing of the Singapore Convention in August 2019 which is aimed at facilitating cross-border of enforcement of commercial settlement agreements.

Conclusion  

In conclusion and looking ahead, we are optimistic that 2023 will open up fresh and exciting opportunities for both the IP industry and legal practitioners in Hong Kong. To prepare for such opportunities, it is critical for us to combine sound technical and legal knowledge with an open, forward-looking mind. Given their enhanced accessibility to the rest of the GBA, lawyers and IP practitioners in Hong Kong are well placed to take advantage of those developments.

香港和中国内地的粤港澳大湾区 

粤港澳大湾区是众所周知的中国科技中心和经济增长引擎。 作为大湾区内最国际化的城市及唯一一个使用普通法的司法管��区，香港的地区尤为独特，特别是在知识产权领域，香港的优势为知识产权所有人及使用者提供了一个充满活力且稳定的法律环境，且为在大湾区内开展业务提供便利。 在过去的25年中，香港一直是亚洲区内享有盛名的知识产权交易及创新枢纽。 在港举办的年度亚洲知识产权营商论坛亦是全球規模最大的知识产权会议之一，每年都吸引数千名来自世界各地的知识产权专业人士、代理人及企业人士参会。

展望2023年，我们欣然看到中国内地和世界其他地区正逐渐从新冠肺炎疫情带来的严重且长时间的负面影响中恢复过来。 在开放疫情管控政策和恢复社会正常运转的过程中，知识产权从业者在未来将有何种机遇？ 需要警惕哪些风险及挑战？

后疫情时代的知识产权 

在后疫情时代，即时电子通信已经成为生活的一部分。 人们在网络以及其他虚拟世界中花费的时间越来越多，特别是对于经历了世界上最长疫情管控期的中国内地居民，线上购物已经急速膨胀到了不可忽视的巨大规模，移动科技亦在大多数人的日常生活中占据了重要的部分。 疫情期间人们在旅游、奢侈品消费和线下实体娱乐方面需求被压抑，亦就不足为奇了。

从好的方面来看，期待已久的中国边境开放将使得跨境知识产权交易重新焕发活力，并重启资本的流通。 香港作为中国内地与国际接轨的门户，必将在振兴过程中发挥重要作用。 依托蓬勃发展的金融科技产业，知识产权领域的律师及中介机构有能力将其专业知识与技能应用于电子商务、人工智能、加密货币及其他不断增长的新型数字资产领域。 与此同时，上述知识产权快速发展的趋势可能会进一步加快推动商标和版权在法律层面不断更新。 而且，有关的改善将不仅仅限於现实世界的知识产权，还会针对“元宇宙”等虚拟世界的知识产权进行更新。 另外，我们预期，与数字货币相关业务的监管环境亦将更加严格。

在未来几年里，新冠疫情将时刻提醒世界医药产业药物研发领域的重要性。 然而，专利权需要强而有力的专利权授予及执行制度为其提供保障，这样才会吸引更多资金投入研发工作。 新冠疫苗的研发就是一个很好的例子。 向发明者授予专利权是为了奖励其创新发明，各方亦非常著重维护公共健康及促进竞争。 在此情况下，传统的专利法与香港新兴的竞争法之间存有潜在冲突，而这类冲突迟早会在本地的诉讼中得以体现。

知识产权争议解决领域的最新展望 

在争议解决领域，律师及客户都预期与技术相关的案件数量将呈上升趋势，涉及生物技术、电子商务和非同质化代币（NFT）交易等领域的争议。 香港高等法院已经成功解决了不少相关案件，自2019年以来，香港高等法院设立了一个由指定专责法官监督的知识产权审讯表。 众所周知，现任主管法官坚定奉行法庭应快速处理涉及知识产权争议的案件管理原则。 因此，我们预计，该法庭须处理的案件数量将毫无悬念地增长，同时，在2023年及之后，其知识产权相关案件的种类亦将增加。

疫情之下，争议解决领域其中一项正面发展的成果之一是在诉讼及其他替代争议解决中采用线上平台（比如Zoom）变得越来越普及。 使用线上平台最初是为了应对许多国家实施的旅行限制。 但是，现在已成为众多地区解决争议时默认使用的方式。 虽然世界各地的法律执业者都已迅速适应这一发展，但香港法院在这方面却落后于其他司法管辖区的法院。

国际仲裁和调解的发展趋势 

相较之下，国际仲裁几乎一夜之间就适应了使用在线庭审的方式。 证人、仲裁员、口译员、记录员、客户及其律师预订商务舱航班和五星级酒店住宿前往仲裁中心开庭的日子已经一去不复返，而不用再支付因出席庭审而带来的各项费用，亦可以避免潜在的干扰。 我们相信，在线庭审这一趋势将会继续持续，并会因此鼓励更多当事人使用仲裁来解决知识产权争议，特别是涉及国际或跨境的争议。

除此之外，仲裁还具有许多诉讼所不具备的优势。 例如，当事人原则上可以同意在同一个诉讼地解决所有的专利纠纷，包括有效性问题。 而同一个仲裁庭可以就任何数量的国家专利进行裁决，而无需在每个司法管辖区的法院分别进行诉讼。 在香港，立法会最近批准了参与以香港作为仲裁地的律师可以就在香港进行的仲裁使用与仲裁结果有关的收费架构。 再加上第三方资助的可能性，这一可喜的发展无疑将增加更多案件诉诸司法的机会，并进一步巩固香港作为国际仲裁中心的地位。

此外，值得留意的是，2017年在香港通过一项立法修订使得几乎任何性质的知识产权纠纷都可以在香港通过仲裁得以解决。 因此，香港法院不会仅以裁决载有专利等知识产权的有效性（或无效性）声明为由，拒绝承认或执行仲裁裁决。 仲裁当事人可以善加利用这一优势。 我们亦希望越来越多的当事方愿意选择将其知识产权争端提交仲裁进行裁决。

最后，我们决不能忽视的是，调解作为仲裁和诉讼的替代方式被越来越广泛地使用。 特别是在知识产权案件中，因为当事人需要保持持续的商业关系的同时亦要快速解决各方之间的争议，调解的作用至关重要。 2019年8月签署的《新加坡公约》正是旨在促进商业和解协议的跨境执行。 因此，在这之后，我们相信未来国际调解的重要性必将进一步上升。

总结 

综上所述，展望未来，香港知识产权行业及法律从业者将在2023年迎来焕然一新且激动人心的发展机遇。 有鉴于香港律师及知识产权从业员与大湾区其他城市的紧密联系交流，法律从业者势必要将扎实的专业技术及法律知识与具开放及前瞻性的思维结合起来，以万全的姿态充分把握发展的契机。