Hong Kong, WIPO sign MOU on WIPO Lex-Judgments database

HONG KONG, Sept. 1 (Xinhua) -- The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government on Monday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) on cooperation with regard to the WIPO Lex-Judgments database.

The move aimed to strengthen information sharing, with a view to jointly building a more connected and informative global intellectual property (IP) community.

The WIPO Lex-Judgments database provides free, open access to leading judicial decisions relating to IP from around the world. Under the MOU, Hong Kong will contribute leading IP judgments from the Judiciary to the database, facilitating the international IP community's access to such judgments, while at the same time showcasing the quality of Hong Kong's IP-related judicial judgments.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, Paul Chan, financial secretary of the HKSAR government, said that Hong Kong's strengthened collaboration with WIPO would not only enhance its role in the international exchange of jurisprudence, but also strengthen Hong Kong's standing as a leading regional hub for IP trading and legal services.

"By enhancing the global transparency of our IP legal regime, we provide greater confidence to international businesses and rights holders to invest and pursue innovation activities here," Chan added.

Also addressing the signing ceremony, Jeremy Poon, chief judge of the High Court of the HKSAR, said that under the MOU, representative IP judgments of Hong Kong courts will be made available on the WIPO Lex-Judgments database.

Hong Kong will continue to play an important role in providing better access of IP judgments, enhancing global understanding of judicial approaches to the latest common legal issues, and contributing to international cooperation for promoting IP, Poon said.