Hong Kong goes for gold on World Intellectual Property Day
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The spotlight shines brightly on Hong Kong sports with “M” Mark international events and our elite athletes winning gold on the world stage over the past few months. The focus on sports continues today as we celebrate World Intellectual Property Day (WIPD) under the auspices of the World Intellectual Property Organisation.
Reach for gold
‘Faster, stronger, higher’ is a mantra that athletes live by when they push themselves beyond their limits in their pursuit of gold. Behind their success is an entire ecosystem that enables them to reach greater heights, with the legal protection of intellectual property serving as a cornerstone of the system.
The quest for sporting excellence
Sports shows intellectual property in action. David Wong, Director of Intellectual Property of the HKSAR government, explains how different stakeholders come together to create the world of sport and drive its enormous economic value.
“Sports and intellectual property are inter-related,” says Wong. “Athletes, sports teams and their coaches want to win, achieve the best results and break new records, but they need better equipment and facilities that come from the application of new technology, material and design. With their triumph, athletes can establish a positive image for themselves and promote their sponsors.
“For their part, sport equipment manufacturers apply their innovation and creativity to come up with high-quality products that enhance athletes’ performance. They involve intellectual property rights (IP rights) that are protected by law and provide a commercial incentive to continue to innovate. The equipment that is popular with athletes greatly enhance its brand appeal and creates a competitive advantage for the manufacturer.
“Sport event organisers are important stakeholders as they hold high-level competitions to attract top athletes and spectators, with the media vying for broadcasting and copyrights that generate economic benefit.
“At these events, corporate sponsors gain by promoting their services or products, thereby enhancing their brand value. The business partnerships that these stakeholders forge are protected by intellectual property, particularly in terms of trademark, copyright and broadcasting rights.
“Last but not least are the sports fans, the consumers who attend the events or subscribe to sports channels to watch at home, buy goods from sponsors and authorised merchandise.”
Game-changing innovations
A sports fan who’s particularly keen on hiking, tennis and football, Wong marvels at the constant innovations in technology, a key driver in the world of sports that are protected by IP rights.
“Hiking shoes, for example, come with different materials for uppers and soles which incorporate various functions to ensure comfort and protection,” says Wong.
“For tennis, the racket technology has radically changed with new materials designed to maximise performance and reduce wrist injury. Different patents that serve similar purposes include a vibration dampener, a perimeter weighting system and a square-shaped isometric racket.
“In football, even a game involves different IP rights. A good example is the game ball used during the 2018 FIFA World Cup that improves flight stability, with its nostalgic panel design and seamless patented technology protected by law.
“The Video Assistant Referee (VAR) fair play technology, a sophisticated fibre-optic communication system deployed in football throughout the same World Cup tournament, is another brilliant invention. Together with the goal-line technology, the use of an electronic aid to determine if a goal has been scored or not, they involve different patents.”
Raising public awareness of IP rights
While fans can enjoy these innovations, it is imperative that they understand the role that IP rights plays in advancing them.
To start with, the Intellectual Property Department (IPD) takes an active role in educating the public from a young age with various programmes targeting students from primary schools through universities.
The ongoing ‘I Pledge’ campaign to promote respect for IP rights has attracted over 10,000 members of the public over the past two decades who have pledged not to get involved in Internet piracy activities, purchase or use pirated and counterfeit goods. Meanwhile, nine trade associations comprising 1,157 retailers at 6,681 points of sale and online stores have joined the ‘No Fakes Pledge’, a scheme that was established since 1998. The ‘No Fakes Pledge’ Scheme not only aims to promote a sense of pride among traders who do not deal in counterfeit and pirated goods; it also aims to enhance awareness of intellectual property protection among retailers and consumers alike.
Support for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)
With SMEs a major pillar of the Hong Kong economy, the IPD spares no effort to help them get engaged with IP commercialisation and trading, and to equip them to tap the vast opportunities they present.
“The Government has been committed to working closely with different stakeholders to promote Hong Kong as an IP trading hub in the Asia Pacific region. With support from various organisations, we have successfully implemented a number of support measures, such as the IP Manager Scheme and IP Consultation Service to facilitate SMEs to identify, manage and commercialise their valuable IP assets. Over 1,000 SMEs have benefited from the above programmes,” explains Wong.
“With the rollout of the new ‘original grant patent system’ in the latter half of this year, we expect the new system can complement the rapid development of innovation and technology in Hong Kong. We would like to see more enterprises grasping the opportunities to commercialise their inventions successfully,” says Wong.
Celebrating IP and Sports
In addition to these regular activities, more immediate plans are afoot to celebrate WIPD. “We will host a cocktail reception today to celebrate the occasion with different stakeholders, while the closing ceremony of our ‘Respect Copyright’ campaign and the ‘Scout Fun Day for Respect for IP Rights’ will be held on May 4 and 5 respectively to engage students and young people alike to promote respect for IP rights from a tender age,” says Wong.