Reading Time: 4 minutesIn “Applying for Trade Mark Protection in Multiple Jurisdictions: the Madrid System” Part I and Part II, we introduced the international registration of trademarks and the outcome of the three-month consultation exercise on the proposed application of the proposed application of the Protocol Relating to the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks (“Madrid Protocol”) conducted in […]
Non-disclosure of conflicts of interest may be a crime in Hong Kong – procurement staff beware
Reading Time: 4 minutesIn both public and private sectors, employees of different levels might be empowered to make decisions on engagement of suppliers and contractors etc. It might be very tempting for such employee to procure contracts to be awarded to entities which he or his family members have interests. However, if no proper declaration of interest was […]
Hong Kong does not recognise a cause of action for wrongful life or wrongful suffering
Reading Time: 4 minutesOn 29 March 2018, the Court of First Instance (the “CFI”) in case Lam Wing Hei (a minor suing by her mother and next Friend Lam Tsz Kiu) and Lam Tsz Kiu v Hospital Authority HCPI 1129/2015 handed down its decision and dismissed a claim for “wrongful life”. The detailed reasons for decision were subsequently given on […]
Hong Kong’s Court of Final Appeal clarifies what civil disobedience is and other aspects on unlawful assembly
Reading Time: 6 minutesIn a decision handed down recently, the Court of Final Appeal quashed the jail terms of Joshua Wong Chi Fung and his two allies imposed by the Court of Appeal but made it clear that the stricter sentencing guidelines laid down by the Court of Appeal will apply to future offenders involved in large scale […]
Hong Kong: How should the damages in fatal cases be assessed?
Reading Time: 4 minutesIntroduction In the recent judgment of Kan Wai Ling and others v Kan Chi Fai [2018] HKCFI 1024, the plaintiffs are the co-administratrices of the estate of the deceased who sustained fatal injuries in a traffic accident. The Court has decided on, among other things, (i) how the award for loss of dependency should be assessed; (ii) […]
Well-known trademarks in the PRC
Reading Time: 4 minutesWell-known trademark recognition is a tool that offers a much broader scope of protection to trademark owners than those offered by normal registered trademarks. Having the well-known trademark status means that the mark has acquired high reputation and influence among the public through extensive and continuous use and has been recognised by the relevant public […]
Time for Hong Kong to revisit the meaning of “dishonesty”
Reading Time: 5 minutesBackground “Dishonesty” is an element to be established by the prosecution in a number of criminal offences, including theft and conspiracy to defraud. R v Ghosh [1982] QB 1053 had been a landmark case formulating the two-stage test on “dishonesty” as a direction to jury (the “Ghosh directions”), which comprised of: Whether the defendant’s conduct was dishonest […]
Maintaining Beneficial Ownership Register – Cayman Islands and British Virgin Islands (BVI)
Reading Time: 9 minutesIntroduction Following the Government of the Virgin Islands’ report on the public consultation of beneficial ownership of legal entities published in February 2015, the Beneficial Ownership Secure Search System Act 2017 was enacted and came into force on 30 June 2017, which requires certain BVI companies to obtain and maintain updated beneficial ownership information, by […]
What type of documents does the Competition Commission need to disclose to a respondent in an enforcement action and Competition Tribunal proceedings?
Reading Time: 5 minutesIntroduction As set out in our October 2017 Newsletter, the Competition Commission (the “Commission”) had commenced proceedings in the Competition Tribunal (the “Tribunal”) against five Respondents, all of which are information technology companies. Last month, the Tribunal handed down its judgment on the 3rdRespondent’s application for orders of discovery against the Commission under CTEA 1/2017(the “Application”). […]
New era for companies from emerging and innovative sectors (HK)
Reading Time: 12 minutesIntroduction Back in February 2018, The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited (the “Exchange”) issued a consultation paper titled “A Listing Regime for Companies from Emerging and Innovative Sectors” (the “Consultation Paper”) to set out proposals to expand the existing listing regime to facilitate the listing of companies from emerging and innovative sectors, subject to […]
Can HR information in relation to hiring be shared? The Competition Commission Advisory Bulletin on anti-competitive conducts in the labour market
Reading Time: 4 minutesWhile the Competition Commission (the “Commission”) has been active in prosecuting anti-competitive conducts in the provision of goods and services markets as evidenced by the upcoming trials of the first two cases later this year, the city watchdog reveals that since the commencement of the operation of the Competition Ordinance (Cap. 619) in December 2015, […]
An update on the regulatory regime of OTC derivatives markets in Hong Kong
Reading Time: 6 minutesIntroduction The Securities and Futures Commission (“SFC”) introduced 2 new regulated activities, namely type 11 regulated activities (“Type 11 RA”) and type 12 regulated activities (“Type 12 RA”), and collectively referred as the “new RAs”, to regulate persons who serve as dealers, advisers or clearing agents etc. in the OTC derivatives market. For definition of […]