The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region 
of the People’s Republic of China

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY DEPARTMENT
Non-Civil Service Vacancies

Chief Patent Examiner 
(Salary: HK$133,090 per month)

Entry Requirements:

Candidates should have – 

(a) a bachelor's degree with second class honours or above in one or more subject(s) in the fields of Chemistry, Electricity and/or Mechanical Engineering* from a local university in Hong Kong, or equivalent (see Item (g) of General Notes below); and 

(b) (i) at least ten years of experience in substantive examination of patent applications in an intellectual property/patent office (“substantive examination experience”), with a minimum of five years of experience in senior position(s); or

   (ii) at least twelve years of substantive examination experience and experience in prosecuting tasks relating to substantive examination of patent applications in English or Chinese, including but not limited to drafting patent specification and claims, providing advice on issues on patentability, prosecution of patent applications and other pre-grant or post-grant patent related issues, such as patent validity, with a minimum of five years of substantive examination experience in senior position(s). 

* The three major fields of Chemistry, Electricity and Mechanical Engineering are broadly classified to include, but not limited to, the following technical subjects: 

Notes:
Candidates should have 
(a) good comprehensive, analytical, research and presentation skills capable of explaining complicated / technical issues in clear terms; and
(b) strong leadership, supervisory and managerial skills. 

Duties of Chief Patent Examiner:

A Chief Patent Examiner is responsible for overseeing the operation and management of the Substantive Examination Team (“SE Team”) of the Patents Registry, and is tasked with duties including, but not limited to, providing technical support and advice in review cases and quasi-judicial hearings in relation to original grant patent applications and short-term patents under the Patents Ordinance (Cap. 514 of the Laws of Hong Kong),  providing support in hearings-related matters, reviewing and monitoring the quality of the examination work of Senior Patent Examiners and Patent Examiners, planning and conducting capacity building of the SE Team, issuing and updating the examination guidelines as well as handling other strategic, developmental and operational matters of the Patents Registry. 

Terms of Appointment:

Successful candidates will be appointed on non-civil service contract terms for one year. Renewal of contract will be subject to the service needs of the Department and the performance of the candidate.

Fringe Benefits:

An end-of-contract gratuity may be granted if the contract is satisfactorily completed with consistently high standard of performance and conduct. Such gratuity, if granted, plus any contribution made by the Government to a Mandatory Provident Fund (“MPF”) Scheme in respect of an appointee as required by the MPF Schemes Ordinance (Cap. 485 of the Laws of Hong Kong), will be equal to 15% of the total basic salary drawn during the contract period.  

12 days paid annual leave. Sickness allowance, rest days, statutory holidays and paternity/maternity leave, where appropriate, will be granted in line with the provisions of the Employment Ordinance (Cap. 57 of the Laws of Hong Kong).

How to Apply:  

(a) Applications should be made in the prescribed application form [G.F. 340 (Rev. 7/2023)] which can be obtained from any Home Affairs Enquiry Centres of District Offices, Home Affairs Department or any Job Centres of the Employment Services Division, Labour Department. The said form can also be downloaded from the Civil Service Bureau's website. The new version of application form for Government jobs G.F. 340 (Rev. 7/2023) has been in use with effect from 26 July 2023.  If candidates submit the old version form G.F.340 (Rev. 3/2013), they will be required to fill in the new G.F. 340 (Rev. 7/2023) afresh and submit it within seven days upon request.  If candidates fail to submit the new G.F. 340 (Rev. 7/2023) within the stipulated deadline, their applications will not be processed further. 

(b) Completed application form [G.F. 340 (Rev. 7/2023)] and a full curriculum vitae (C.V.) setting out -

(1) local/ overseas academic qualification (with copies of certificates and transcripts); and

(2) employment records with detailed description of duties and experience (with copies of documentary proof of the working experience),

must be submitted on or before the Closing Date for Application via one of the following means:

(i) sending the application documents by post to the Contact Address as stated below; or 

(ii) applying online through the Civil Service Bureau’s website. Candidates who apply online should submit their C.V. and copies of the required supporting documents by post with sufficient postage to the Contact Address within one week after the close of application period.  The online application number should be quoted on the envelope and the copies of the C.V. and the supporting documents.  Please specify on the envelope “Application for the Post of Chief Patent Examiner”.  

For all submission by post, please mark “Application for the Post of Chief Patent Examiner” on the envelope. The postmark date on the envelope will be regarded as the date of submission of application form and/ or copies of supporting documents.  To avoid delayed or unsuccessful delivery of applications, please ensure that the correct address is clearly printed or written on the envelope and sufficient postage is affixed before posting. Mail items bearing insufficient postage will not be delivered to the Contact Address and will be returned to the sender or disposed of by the Hongkong Post, where appropriate. Applicants will bear any consequences arising from not paying sufficient postage.

(c) Applications which are late, incomplete, not duly signed, submitted by fax or email, or not made in the prescribed form [G.F. 340 (Rev. 7/2023)] will NOT be considered.  If the required C.V. and the supporting documents are not provided/sufficient, or are submitted after the closing date for application or the stipulated deadline, such applications will NOT be considered.  If it is not clear from the applications that the entry requirements are met, the applications will NOT be considered.

(d) All relevant academic qualifications and professional experience should be obtained on or before the closing date for application. Qualifications and professional experience obtained after the closing date for application will NOT be considered. 

(e) Candidates who are selected for interview will normally receive an invitation in about eight to twelve weeks after the closing date for application.  Candidates may be required to complete a written work during the interview.  Those who are not invited for interview may assume that their applications are unsuccessful.  As invitations will be issued by email, candidates should provide an accurate email address in the Application Form [G.F. 340 (Rev. 7/2023)].  To avoid missing any invitation or notification, candidates are responsible for (a) ensuring that the settings of their email accounts do not block emails from any of the Enquiry Email Addresses; and (b) checking each incoming mailbox (including the spam folder) regularly.

Contact Address:

Rm601-2, 6/F, FWD Financial Centre, 308 Des Vœux Road Central, Sheung Wan, Hong Kong

Enquiry Telephone:

Intellectual Property Department: (852) 3520 0740/ 3520 0747
Consultant of Intellectual Property Department: (852) 2504 5321 

Enquiry Email Addresses:

Intellectual Property Department: adminunit.pr@ipd.gov.hk 
Consultant of Intellectual Property Department: CPE@williams-asia.com 

Closing Date for Application:   9 February 2024 6:00 p.m. (Hong Kong Time)

Newspapers Advertised in Hong Kong (with date(s)):

Ming Pao Daily News (15 December 2023) and South China Morning Post (16 and 23 December 2023)

ALL APPLICATIONS WILL BE HANDLED IN STRICT CONFIDENCE.

General Notes:

(a) Persons who are not permanent residents of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (“HKSAR”) may also apply for this vacancy but will be appointed only when no suitable and qualified candidates who are permanent residents of the HKSAR are available. 

(b) As an Equal Opportunities Employer, the Government is committed to eliminating discrimination in employment.  The vacancy advertised is open to all applicants meeting the basic entry requirement irrespective of their disability, sex, marital status, pregnancy, age, family status, sexual orientation and race.

(c) Non-civil service vacancies are not posts on the civil service establishment.  Candidates appointed are not on civil service terms of appointment and conditions of service.  Candidates appointed are not civil servants and will not be eligible for posting, promotion or transfer to any posts in the Civil Service.

(d) The entry pay, terms of appointment and conditions of service to be offered are subject to the provisions prevailing at the time the offer of appointment is made.

(e) Where a large number of candidates meet the specified entry requirements, the recruiting department may devise shortlisting criteria to select the better qualified candidates for further processing.  In these circumstances, only shortlisted candidates will be invited to attend recruitment tests and/or interview(s).

(f) It is Government policy to place people with a disability in appropriate jobs wherever possible. If a disabled candidate meets the entry requirements, he/she will be invited to attend the recruitment test(s) and/or interview(s) without being subject to any further shortlisting criteria. Applicants who have declared disabilities found suitable for appointment may be given an appropriate degree of preference over other applicants whose suitability for appointment is considered comparable to that of the former.  The Government policy and other related measures on employment of persons with disabilities are set out in the booklet “Employ People Based on Their Abilities – Application for Government Jobs by Persons with Disabilities” which is available for reference on the Civil Service Bureau’s website under “Administration of the Civil Service – Appointments”.  

(g) Holders of academic qualifications other than those obtained from Hong Kong institution/Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority may also apply but their qualifications will be subject to assessments on equivalence with the required entry qualifications. They should attach to their applications copies of their diplomas/certificates, official transcripts of studies and official documents issued by the relevant academic institutions stating the mode of delivery (e.g. full time/part time, on campus/distance learning, etc.) of the study programmes.  To facilitate the assessment of the qualifications, candidates should provide the above documents for all other relevant qualifications obtained as far as possible. Candidates who apply online should mark “Application for the Post of Chief Patent Examiner” on the envelope and quote the online application number on the envelope and the copies of the supporting documents. If candidates fail to provide the supporting documents, their applications will not be considered.

(h) Towards the application deadline, the online application system would likely be overloaded due to a large volume of applications. To ensure timely completion of your on-line application, it is advisable to submit the application as early as possible.