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The "2010 Guangdong/Hong Kong Seminar on Intellectual Property and the Development of Small and Medium Enterprises (Guangzhou)" was held in Guangzhou today (June 25).
The seminar, targeting Hong Kong-based small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and Mainland enterprises in Guangdong Province, aimed to strengthen enterprises' awareness of intellectual property (IP) rights protection and sharpen their competitive edge.
Speaking at the seminar's opening ceremony, the Director of Intellectual Property, Mr Stephen Selby, said the seminar brought together about 250 SME representatives and government officials from Guangdong and Hong Kong, and served as a platform for the SMEs to keep abreast of the latest IP development in the region.
"We are honoured to have Mr Lv Guoliang, Director General of the International Co-operation Department of the State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) deliver a keynote speech. It shows that SIPO attaches great importance to Guangdong/Hong Kong IP co-operation,"Mr Selby said.
"The seminar is intended to show SMEs in the region how they can use IP as a tool for facilitating restructuring and upgrading. We will showcase how Hong Kong's IP professional services can help enterprises develop their business and facilitate their exposure to the international community, as well as exchange views on how enterprises can protect their IP rights under the different legal systems of Hong Kong and the Mainland."
Mr Selby noted that as the provincial capital of Guangdong Province, Guangzhou is not only geographically close to Hong Kong, but also has frequent exchanges with Hong Kong in business and trade, scientific research as well as art and culture. There is great potential for the two places to achieve synergy in developing creative enterprises and IP trading.
"By strengthening the concepts of IP protection and application, such as registration of IP in both Hong Kong and the Mainland and using brand names in product promotion, SMEs in the region can effectively build up their corporate image and substantially increase their competitiveness and create more business opportunities," Mr Selby said.
The "2010 Guangdong/Hong Kong Seminar on Intellectual Property and the Development of Small and Medium Enterprises (Guangzhou)" was one of the programmes of Guangdong/Hong Kong IP co-operation this year. It was organised by the Intellectual Property Department of the HKSAR Government, in collaboration with the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, the Guangdong Intellectual Property Office and the Municipal Government of Guangzhou, undertaken by the Intellectual Property Office of Guangzhou Municipality, co-organised by the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Guangdong, and supported by other members of the Guangdong/Hong Kong Expert Group on the Protection of Intellectual Property Rights.
Since 2004, Guangdong and Hong Kong have been working together to organise seminars promoting IP protection among SMEs. Similar seminars have been held successfully in cities like Dongguan, Shaoguan, Shunde, Huizhou, Jiangmen, Zhanjiang, Zhuhai, Shantou and Zhongshan.
Details of the seminar are available on the Intellectual Property Department's website at www.ipd.gov.hk.
Ends/Friday, June 25, 2010
Issued at HKT 16:01
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