Patent Application Grant (PAG)
Objective
Launched in 1998, PAG aims to encourage local companies and inventors to capitalise their intellectual work through patent registration.
Eligibility
All locally incorporated companies, Hong Kong permanent residents or Hong Kong residents permitted to remain in Hong Kong for not less than 7 years which/who have never owned any patents in any countries or territories nor received funding under the PAG before will be eligible.
For individual applicants, the applicant must be the sole inventor or one of the joint inventors of the invention.
For company applicants, the inventor(s) of the invention shall be (a) directly related party/parties to the applicant company, e.g. owner, shareholder, director, or staff. As the PAG is for first-time patent seekers only, funding support will not be provided if funding has been granted under the PAG to the applicant company's related company(ies) (i.e. (1) company(ies) having a major shareholder (viz. those with 50% or more ownership) in common with the applicant company or (2) company(ies) without major shareholder(s) but having shareholders identical to those of the applicant company) before.
All applications for functional patents and inventions with technology elements and susceptible of industrial application are eligible. Cosmetic designs will not be supported. The implementation agent of the PAG, the Hong Kong Productivity Council (HKPC), will first conduct a patent search-cum-technical assessment to ensure that there is a reasonable chance of obtaining patent.
Key Features
- Maximum funding support: HK$250,000 or 90% of the sum of the total direct costs of patent application (including the cost for patent search-cum-technical assessment), whichever is the lower.
- Individual applicant/company applicant to bear the remaining balance required for the patent application(s).
- Approval non-transferrable and valid for 3 years from the date of approval of the application.
Application
Two copies of the duly completed application form are to be submitted to the implementation agent, HKPC, or the Innovation and Technology Commission (ITC).
Alternatively, you may submit your PAG application online through the website below:https://apply.pag.hkpc.org/registration/index
Assessment
Applications will be processed through HKPC on a confidential basis. Applicants must provide HKPC with details of their ideas or inventions. A patent search-cum-technical assessment will be conducted by HKPC, based on which ITC will decide whether the applications should be approved. ITC's decision will be final.
Frequently Asked Questions
You can still apply for the PAG if you do not have any patents granted by any countries or territories when you apply for the PAG. However, the funds can only be used after your application has been approved by the Innovation and Technology Commission and will only be released to the implementation agent, HKPC, through which the patent application is to be administered.
The PAG is for covering the direct costs for patent search-cum-technical assessment and other direct costs involved in the patent application process. Examples are attorney fees, consultant fees and filing fees of patent applications. Other expenses, including any other costs incurred before the date of approval of the application and the renewal fees of granted patents, are not fundable.
No. The PAG can be used in applying for patents in or outside Hong Kong. However, a grant only of not more than HK$250,000 or 90% of the total direct costs of patent application, whichever is lower, will be provided to each approved application.
No. The PAG can be used to cover the direct expenses of patent registration, including filing fees, examination fees, issue fees, etc. To ensure that sufficient funding is available for the completion of at least one patent registration, a portion of the PAG funding ($70,000) will be reserved for covering expenses to be incurred in the procedures after the filing of the application(s) to patent office(s), i.e. the post-filing stage of patent application. The applicants may seek clarifications from HKPC in case of doubts.
The purpose of conducting the patent search-cum-technical assessment is to assess whether the invention is of novelty, inventiveness and industrial applicability, and to check from patent databases covering worldwide published patents or patent applications to identify any prior published patents or applications which are analogous to your invention so as to assess whether the invention has a reasonable chance to obtain an invention patent.
If the application is approved, the applicant has to appoint (a) patent agent(s) to handle the patent application. The eligibility requirements for the patent agents are set out in the "Guide for Patent Agents" issued by HKPC.
Others
You can obtain more information from HKPC as follows:
Hong Kong Productivity Council
- Tel: (852) 2788 5958
- Fax: (852) 3187 4509
- Email: ipsc@hkpc.org
Innovation and Technology Commission
- Tel: (852) 3655 5678
- Fax: (852) 2957 8726
- Email: enquiry@itf.gov.hk