If you wish to file an application for registration of any registrable intellectual property (“IP”) rights or otherwise prosecute proceedings before the Registrar of Trade Marks, Patents or Designs (“Registrar”), you may either do it yourself or appoint an agent to do it on your behalf. The law is permissible both ways.
That said, should you have any real doubt or question on any material issue concerning acquisition, protection, validity, management, exploitation, commercialisation or enforcement of IP rights, you may consult a competent advisor who may also be appointed to act as your agent at any stage of proceedings before the Registrar in the interest of safeguarding your legitimate rights and interests.
An agent can act and sign for an applicant for registration of IP rights, a registered owner of IP rights, or other person in connection with any proceedings before the Registrar. An agent may also help you manage your IP portfolio, including renewals of your IP rights.
On the other hand, an agent cannot make a statutory declaration or affidavit (unless he has first-hand knowledge of the facts) or give or revoke a power of attorney on behalf of the person for whom he acts.
Only a person residing in Hong Kong, partnership or company carrying on business in Hong Kong may act as an agent in any proceedings before the Registrar. As such, you should, in choosing an agent for prosecuting proceedings before the Registrar on your behalf, ensure that the agent must have an address of the premises in Hong Kong where he resides or carries on his business activities.
A person with or without professional qualification may act as an IP agent. To make an informed choice of agent for meeting your service expectations and needs, it is advisable for you to make prior enquiries into, notably, the credentials (e.g. qualifications, experience and track records), coverage of professional indemnity insurance (if any) and fee level of possible candidates. For instance, a case involving a complex or contentious question of fact and/or law may warrant you to consider engaging an agent with legal qualification and expertise for professional advice.
There are no official registers of IP agents in Hong Kong. Reference may be made to the following: