Hong Kong Watch & Clock Fair

From 2 to 6 September in Hong Kong, organisers held what they proudly term the «world's biggest timepiece event», namely the 2009 Hong Kong Watch & Clock Fair. The phrase as such is not misplaced, since the halls of the immense Convention & Exhibition Centre welcomed 696 exhibitors (760 in 2008) from 17 countries (19 in 2008), i.e. a slightly higher number than at Baselworld if watch manufacturers only are taken into account.

For information, it will be remembered that the event's organisers, the HKTDC, made available for the first time in 2008 an office responsible for dealing with violations of intellectual property rights identified inside the exhibition. It was an opportunity the FH could not pass up. Buoyed by the success encountered by last year's surveillance operation, it therefore suggested to members of the Anti-Counterfeiting Group that they should repeat the initiative this year. 25 brands immediately responded positively to this invitation and, as in 2008, the mandate was assigned to the FH Centre in Hong Kong.

As soon as the event opened its doors our detectives began scrutinizing the display cabinets of all 696 stands located in three exhibition halls. Drawing on experience gained last year, proceeding both systematically and discreetly, they made a note of every violation, copied model or trademark infringement. It will be remembered that last year the organisers were somewhat overwhelmed by the size of the haul their work brought in and found themselves faced with the material impossibility of processing all complaints before the final day of the exhibition. Such an outcome was avoided this year. All complaints were dealt with professionally and in good time, an effort which deserves to be applauded.

By the end of the event 52 complaints had been filed by our teams, i.e. two more than in 2008. Of this number, the Panel pronounced 41 violations (30 in 2008), demanding in such cases the immediate withdrawal of litigious items and banning publicity inside the centre for the duration of the exhibition; seven complaints were dismissed (10 in 2008), the litigious items having been withdrawn prior to officials inspecting the stand; three were rejected (10 in 2008), where legal experts deemed that the litigious items showed sufficiently marked differences to exclude them from the applicable field of protection. In addition one complaint was rejected on technical grounds (the wording of the protection did not expressly cover clocks or watches).

After an encouraging first exercise which demonstrated the need for closer surveillance, the effort in 2009 showed the importance of this type of action over the longer term. Indeed several exhibitors caught red-handed in the act of copying were repeat offenders. Thought will be given to taking further action against them outside the exhibition. At the same time this point was driven home to the organisers, who will not hesitate to invoke the threat of exclusion in the most blatant cases. On this subject, it should be noted that a complaint filed last year closed the doors of the 2009 Fair to one particularly recalcitrant exhibitor. A decision such as this would have been totally inconceivable three or four years ago, which means therefore that the situation is changing for the better. Wasn't it a philosopher who once said «patience is more powerful than the sword»?