.svg)
.png)
Hong Kong IP practice now places clear and enforceable weight on having a local “Address for Service” in the Hong Kong Special Administration Region for IP agents to practice before the Registrar. In practical terms, applicants should appoint a Hong Kong-based IP agent having a physical address in Hong Kong to meet this requirement from day one.
IP agents involved in proceedings before the Patents Registry must file an Address for Service, and that address must be a physical address in Hong Kong (not overseas). The rule is categorical and applies across the life of an application and patent.
Where a party appoints an IP agent (for the first time or replacing another), the newly appointed IP agent must file an Address for Service, and no act under the Ordinance or Rules may be done by or to that agent until the address has been filed.
The local address requirement appears at front-end filing stages. For example, a request to record a designated patent application for a standard patent (R) must state “an address in Hong Kong for service of documents.”
The Registry’s Examination Guidelines further stress that the Address for Service supplied on patent forms must be a Hong Kong address and that P.O. boxes or “care of” addresses or an address used solely for mail forwarding are not acceptable.
If an Address for Service is missing or becomes invalid, the Registrar may issue a notice requiring one to be filed. Failure to comply within 2 months carries teeth: (i)any application, notice or request filed by that person (other than a patent application) is treated as abandoned or withdrawn; and (ii) the person is deemed to have withdrawn from Registry proceedings (save as an applicant).
“Address for Service” is a physical Hong Kong address used for Registry correspondence and service between parties. It may be the applicant’s own Hong Kong address or, more commonly for overseas filers, the address of a Hong Kong patent agent. The Guidelines confirm that IP agent particulars are provided when the form is filed by an agent, and these often mirror the Address for Service details.
The administrative risk from a missing or invalid local address is high: loss of requests, abandonment of procedural steps, or deemed withdrawal from contested matters—each with schedule and cost impact. Appointing a Hong Kong agent (and keeping the Address for Service up-to-date) de-risks the portfolio by ensuring papers can be filed, served, and acted upon without interruption.
Voyage IP(Hong Kong) Ltd is incorporated and operating in Hong Kong and meets the Address for Service requirement for IP filings and Registry proceedings. By appointing Voyage IP (Hong Kong) as your local IP agent, our Hong Kong business address can be designated as the Address for Service, ensuring that (a) your filings and forms are accepted as complete, (b) Registry communications and inter-party service are properly received and actioned, and (c) any agent changes are implemented without interruption to your ability to act. The legal framework contemplates and facilitates this approach: the agent’s details on the forms align with the Address for Service when the agent also acts as the address holder.
Hong Kong’s IP regime functions on a bright-line local Address for Service requirement. The safest, most efficient way for applicants to satisfy this is to appoint a Hong Kong-based patent agent that complies with all Registry Address for Service requirements. Voyage IP (Hong Kong) Ltd provides exactly that capability, ensuring continuous compliance and reducing procedural risk throughout the life of your Hong Kong filings.
