LCQ10: Promoting the development of the popular artistic toy industry
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Question:
It has been reported that in recent years, the popular artistic toy industry and the "goods economy" (i.e. economic activities relating to intellectual property (IP) peripheral products of animation, comics, games, idols, etc) have expanded rapidly worldwide. Last year, the global market of "blind boxes" (i.e. sealed boxes whose IP peripheral products are not made known to consumers in advance) reached US$14.5 billion (approximately HK$113.1 billion), with some IP merchandise created by Hong Kong designers generating hundreds of millions of dollars in value in the international market. However, there are views that the popular artistic toy industrial chain in Hong Kong is not yet mature and requires precise policy support. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it has compiled statistics for the period between 2022 and 2024 on (i) the number of companies registered in Hong Kong that were involved in the design, production or sale of popular artistic toys, (ii) the contribution of the popular artistic toy industry to Gross Domestic Product, (iii) the number of professional practitioners in the popular artistic toy industry, and (iv) among the projects approved under the Government's funding schemes or funds for driving the development of the cultural and creative industries (e.g. the CreateSmart Initiative), the proportion of projects related to the popular artistic toy industry and the total amount of funding involved; if such data is unavailable, whether the Government will review if this emerging industry is outside the scope of the existing policy;
(2) whether it has compiled statistics on the number of registrations filed with the Intellectual Property Department by local designers for artistic toy character designs from 2022 to 2024, and the number of cases in which Hong Kong enterprises have successfully turned local IP into mass-produced merchandise;
(3) of the number of pop-up stores or exhibitions relating to the theme of popular artistic toys that were approved to be held in public venues (e.g. the West Kowloon Cultural District and galleries of the Leisure and Cultural Services Department) in the past year, and the average duration of such exhibitions;
(4) among the events supported by the Mega Events Coordination Group last year, of the proportion of mega events that had the theme of popular artistic toys (e.g. designers' autograph and sale sessions and blind box bazaars), as well as the data on the number of people who attended such events; and
(5) as the Financial Secretary pointed out earlier on in a blog post that some IP with Hong Kong elements created by Hong Kong designers has generated hundreds of millions of dollars in value, and there are views that this reflects that the calibre of the local creative industry is of an international standard, whether the Government has formulated specific measures to assist in the development of the industrialisation of Hong Kong's IP and to promote the maximisation of the value of local IP; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Reply:
President,
Art toy refers to toys designed by designers and artists, and infused with rich cultural connotations and fashionable creativity. It can be traced back to figures in the 1960s of the 20th century which were mostly derivative models of anime characters for the purposes of appreciation and collection. Noting the emergence and development of art toy in recent years which bring in opportunities for the creative industries in Hong Kong, the Cultural and Creative Industries Development Agency (CCIDA) under the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau (CSTB) has been actively supporting projects related to Hong Kong's art toy industry, including setting up Hong Kong pavilions at exhibitions in the Mainland and overseas to support the industry in the promotion of art toys originated in Hong Kong.
My reply to the various parts of the question raised by the Hon Jeffrey Lam's question, in consultation with the Census and Statistics Department (C&SD) and the Intellectual Property Department (IPD), is as follows:
(1) The cultural and creative industries (CCI) form an integral part of creating a diversified economy in Hong Kong. CCI covers the design sector whereas art toy design is grouped under this sector. According to the C&SD's latest statistics, the value added by the design sector reached over $4.2 billion in 2023, accounting for over 0.1% of Gross Domestic Product in Hong Kong, and 3.1% of that of CCI. The number of establishments and practitioners engaged in the design sector were around 7 490 and 18 650 respectively.
From 2022 till now, the CCIDA funded and fostered eight Hong Kong art toy-related projects through the CreateSmart Initiative (CSI). Overseas projects included driving the industry to participate in "Promote Hong Kong Designer Toys through Thailand Exhibitions", "Promote Hong Kong Designer Toys through Thailand Toy Expo 2024", "Promote Hong Kong Art Toys through Indonesia Exhibition 2024" and "Promote Hong Kong Art Toys through Thailand Toy Expo 2025". These four projects facilitated over 20 business deals and more than 370 business enquiries and contacts, and ideal selling records were made for individual participating designers. For example, a Hong Kong art toy designer sold art toys of over $0.5 million and successfully reached out an Indonesian toy agent to expand his retail business in Indonesia. In the Mainland, the CSI funded the industry to participate in "Hong Kong Creative Pavilion@China (Shenzhen) International Cultural Industry Expo and Trade Fair plus Hong Kong@Shenzhen Cultural Industry Expo", "Hong Kong Creative Pavilion@2024 Hangzhou Cultural & Creative Industry Expo", "China International Cartoon & Animation Festival (Hangzhou)" and "China International Animation Copyright Fair (Dongguan)". The CCIDA set up Hong Kong pavilions in these exhibitions to promote Hong Kong's art toy, animation, game and related industries. These four Hong Kong pavilions attracted a total of over 160 000 participants, reaching out over 1 300 business deals and more than 120 business enquiries and contacts. The eight projects obtained about $38 million of the CSI funding.
In fact, Hong Kong creators made great achievements in the global art toy industries in recent years. Their art toy characters designed and the products generated by their intellectual properties (IPs) successfully occupy a remarkable market share in markets of Hong Kong, the Mainland and overseas. Among them, Hong Kong renowned designers Lung Ka-sing and Kenny Wong created iconic art toy products, making great profits for the art toy industries. Lung also won an illustration award in Belgium, being the first Chinese designer to win this prize. Besides, Wong's designs have collaborations with various international trendy brands for rolling out IP products.
(2) According to the IPD, the Locarno classification published by the World Intellectual Property Organization is the system adopted for classifying articles under the local registered designs system. There is no specific class for "artistic toy characters", which are instead classified under Class 21 (sub-class 01) – "games and toys". The numbers of applications and registrations under this sub-class from 2022 to 2024 are as follows:
| 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | |
| Number of applications (Number of designs involved (Note 1)) |
31 (66) |
39 (79) |
59 (82) |
| Number of registrations (Note 2) | 78 | 76 | 41 |
Note 2: Since it takes time to process applications, the number of registrations shown may not equal to the number of applications received in a particular year.
Other than obtaining protection for the design of an article under the registered designs system, the same may also be considered as a sign for registration under the trade marks system, or as an original artistic work protected by the copyright system (registration not required). Rights holders need to consider their overall IP protection and utilisation strategy, as well as the relevant legal requirements.
Over the years, there have been numerous examples of Hong Kong businesses transforming local cultural and creative IPs into mass-produced products. This may be done by various ways such as sales and licensing, and it also depends on the types of IPs being utilised. The Government does not have statistics in this regard.
(3) and (4) Different types of mega events in Hong Kong cover various areas, among which many of the events with profound IP elements are well received by the public. Events in 2024 include "100% DORAEMON & FRIENDS" Tour, Pokémon GO City Safari, PANDA GO! FEST HK, ComplexCon Hong Kong, Hypefest Hong Kong, and the annual Ani-com & Games Hong Kong that gathers animation, comics and figurines, etc. The CSTB supported these activities in different ways. As an estimate, these events attracted over five millions of participants.
In 2024, there were nine art toy-related projects exhibited in venues of the West Kowloon Cultural District and the Leisure and Cultural Services Department. Their average exhibition period was about 17 days. In addition, there were lots of activities relating to the theme of art toy held in different government and private venues (such as shopping malls).
(5) The Government has been promoting the development of the trading and commercialisation of local IPs, including various measures related to CCI.
In strengthening IP protection, the copyright system is an essential component of the IP regime, offering protection for original works including those in the literary and artistic fields, and is crucial to the development of the local creative industries and a knowledge-based economy. The Copyright (Amendment) Ordinance 2022 came into effect in May 2023 to enhance copyright protection in the digital environment. The IPD is also conducting a comprehensive review of the local registered design system and plans to launch a public consultation within this year to ensure that the system remains up-to-date, aligns with current international standards, and meets the needs of Hong Kong's future economic development. Besides, the CCIDA is actively supporting cultural IP projects (including those related to art toy mentioned above) through the CSI, and driving applicants to make applications for IP protection for their cultural and creative products, formulate IP agreements and manage IP portfolios, etc. so as to assist creators in exploring business opportunities.
In enhancing capacity building, the IPD has in recent years provided more comprehensive and in-depth IP training courses and practical workshops for practitioners across various sectors, including those in the cultural and creative industries, with a target to benefit 5 000 practitioners across different industries within the current term of the Government. Besides, in collaboration with the Law Society of Hong Kong, the IPD has been providing free IP consultation services for small and medium enterprises through practising lawyers on a pro bono basis.
On promotion effort, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) continues to enrich large-scale activities such as the Hong Kong International Film and TV Market, the Hong Kong International Licensing Show and the Hong Kong Book Fair in order to support local original works to exploit the Mainland and international markets. The CCIDA has also funded the HKTDC to enhance the Asia IP Exchange portal, adding a database for arts, cultural and creative IPs to facilitate potential buyers in searching for relevant information, and introducing more elements of market transaction, such as business matching events, market information and professional service packages on IP trading to foster cross-sectoral collaboration. The CCIDA will facilitate more registration of local and non-local cultural and creative products on the Asia IP Exchange portal to promote the transactions of cultural IPs.
Ends/Wednesday, June 25, 2025
Issued at HKT 16:35
Issued at HKT 16:35
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