TRADE MARKS ORDINANCE
Paris Convention Countries and WTO Members
Countries which have acceded to the Paris Convention
Countries, territories and areas which have acceded to the World Trade Organization Agreement (not including countries which have acceded to the Paris Convention)
Determination of Well-known Trade Marks
1. Factors for consideration (1) In determining for the purposes of section 4 (meaning of “well-known trade mark”) whether a trade mark is well known in Hong Kong, the Registrar or the court shall take into account any factors from which it may be inferred that the trade mark is well known in Hong Kong.
(2) In particular, the Registrar or the court shall consider any information submitted to the Registrar or the court from which it may be inferred that the trade mark is, or is not, well known in Hong Kong, including, but not limited to, information concerning the following—
- (a) the degree of knowledge or recognition of the trade mark in the relevant sectors of the public;
- (b) the duration, extent and geographical area of any use of the trade mark;
- (c) the duration, extent and geographical area of any promotion of the trade mark, including advertising or publicity and the presentation, at fairs or exhibitions, of the goods or services to which the trade mark applies;
- (d) the duration and geographical area of any registrations, or any applications for registration, of the trade mark, to the extent that they reflect use or recognition of the trade mark;
- (e) the record of successful enforcement of rights in the trade mark, in particular, the extent to which the trade mark has been recognized as a well-known trade mark by competent authorities in foreign jurisdictions; and
- (f) the value associated with the trade mark.
(3) The factors mentioned in subsection (2) are intended to serve as guidelines to assist the Registrar and the court to determine whether the trade mark is well known in Hong Kong. It is not a precondition for reaching that determination that information be submitted with respect to any of those factors or that equal weight be given to each of them. Rather, the determination in each case will depend upon the particular circumstances of that case. In some cases all of the factors may be relevant. In other cases some of the factors may be relevant. In still other cases
