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A spokesman for the Intellectual Property Department today (June 3) encouraged the business sector to make good use of the free online intellectual property (IP) audit tool, Intellectual Property Explorer, to identify and protect their IP assets.
Developed by the government intellectual property offices of Hong Kong, Australia and Singapore under the auspices of Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation, Intellectual Property Explorer is designed to help the business sector, in particular small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), realise and profit from their intellectual property assets. The tool is accessible at www.intellectualpropertyexplorer.com .
It contains a series of interactive diagnostic questions to help users review each piece of IP in the business. After undertaking the IP audit, users can generate reports that contain recommendations in relation to areas of concern or uncertainty about their IP, or improvement in IP protection strategies.
Intellectual Property Explorer provides English, Traditional Chinese and Simplified Chinese versions. The English version was launched in August 2010, and the Chinese version came into operation in May 2011.
The spokesman reminded users that the information offered by this tool might not take into account the whole range of intellectual property laws that exist in different countries, or the specific facts/circumstances in the business. Users should thus seek independent legal, business or other relevant professional advice before relying or acting on such information with regard to specific facts/circumstances.
Ends/Friday, June 3, 2011
Issued at HKT 15:03
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