The BDC in 2011 broached the idea of establishing a region- wide trademark mutual recognition and reconciliation mechanism in the Greater China, i.e. Mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macao. Seeing that the development of Guangdong-Hong Kong- Macao Greater Bay Area has provided a new impetus for the economic integration in the region, the BDC therefore suggests that the governments of Hong Kong, Guangdong and Macao could grasp this historic opportunities and take the lead to pursue trademark mutual recognition within the Greater Bay Area through G2G cooperation and institutional innovation.
At the exchange programme on“Branding Globalisation in Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao” under the theme of “Brand Development of Classic Old Shops/Time-honoured Brands: Rebranding” co-organised by the Intellectual Property Department of Hong Kong SAR and the Guangdong Province Administration for Market Regulation (Guangdong Intellectual Property Office) on 7 May 2019, the representative of the BDC suggested that members of the Greater Bay Area could join forces to establish a region-wide unified trademark registration system. Inter alia, the trademark registration authorities of Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao could consider setting up an organisation namely the “Greater Bay Area Trademark Alliance”, which, in the beginning, might focus on strengthening the exchange of information among the three members, assisting to provide trademark registration services in each other’s territory, and conducting accreditation for “Well-known Trademarks of Greater Bay Area”.
At a later stage, it is suggested that the Alliance could offer an integrated registration service, drawing on the Madrid System, which means one single registration will be valid for all the three members. The Alliance would implement measures to facilitate trademark registration and management in the Greater Bay Area; for example, it would handle trademark application according to a standardised procedure and coordinate the service fee scheme, trademark protection scope, appeal and review process among the three members, thus uplifting the IP environment of the region.
