Have you ever thought about how a Company Signage could enhance your business image? Or did you know a directory signage could help facilitate your official business applications to the government authorities? After reading this blog, you may just be surprised at how this simple tool does great things for your business!
 

Strengthen Company Image

A company signage set at the entrance of a premier business centre or building in HK could be one of the KEYS to outrun your competitor. Simply just imagine if you would like to acquire a service, when you arrive the building there is nowhere showing where the office is, you will probably turn away, and one business opportunity is most likely slipping away.

Another situation is that if you are about to engage in business with another start-up company, they gave you an address so you went up for a visit and tried to look into the directory signage, you found your possible partner’s company name was just not there, would you still have confidence in doing business with this firm? Maybe you will but from our experience, we have seen many visitors came in, stood in front of the directory signage board for a while and they left without a word. A company signage not only presents the quality of the services and products that builds up your company image, but also helps you avoid all the above awkward situations, especially if you are a foreign entrepreneur and people may wonder if you really have an office location in HK. By having a signage, it shows you have the absolute right to use the local registered address, for which most of our serviced office or virtual office clients have got one already.

Leverage Practical Functionality

When submitting applications to government departments or financial institutions, they always require a registered corporate correspondence address that proves your business presence in HK. Thus, your company directory signage will serve as a good proof in such applications like business license application, HK working visa application, bank account opening, etc.

A survey of FedEx once found during parcels or products delivery, people may get confused or even returned from the location when the company signage is omitted at the entrance, and eventually it cannot be sure whether the products are delivered to the right address. Therefore the reason why people registered for a company signage is not for maintaining their company image only but also trying to serve the basic and practical purposes such as ensuring they can send out as well as receive their business materials accurately and efficiently; and when the authorities come to visit their serviced office / virtual office / co-working space, a proper company signage at the entrance can easily project a good presence to represent the company and people are then able to locate it quickly.

Now at BRIDGES, by using our serviced office / virtual office /co-working space services, you can get your company directory signage handily for owning a prestigious presence at the CBD - Central, Hong Kong at HK$1,500 per annum, which means it’s just HK$125 (US$17) per month only!

Register here to kick off your New Year with a multi-functional signage.

Co-Working VS Serviced Office

When start-ups think about their work space, two options may pop up in their minds: getting a co-working space that is very prevalent these days, or renting a serviced office with a more private working area. Many of our clients have come across these questions time by time nowadays, but the answer is, these two choices are both awesome, ONLY they are fitting different needs, serving different purposes and having their own characteristics! So yes, the struggles are real, let’s open this topic and see if the following views can help you facilitate your decision?
 

Why Co-Working Space?

To start-ups, budget control and resource management both play a significant role in their business expansion. Working at a co-working space is a low-cost pick but with a bundle of benefits at the same time. When you work at such environment, it allows you as a young business to meet different kinds of people that could turn into a valuable asset in your future expansion.

An unique characteristic and best thing of co-working space is Flexibility. When you work at a conventional office, you might not be able to come and go as you wish since a standard 1-2 years contract might tie you up. Yet, you won’t have to worry about the commitment period of your co-working space because certain service providers do offer different package plans like Day Pass / Weekly Pass / Monthly Plan (like what BRIDGES does) for start-ups to select. Some people may go for Day Pass for temporary usage, for which you can simply make a phone call or pay on spot then you are all set and good to go. Else, you can pick Monthly Plan with 40 hours usage or unlimited usage, depends on which plan fits you more.

So the concept of co-working space is pretty much like you just come in with your gear and then you can start working. When you have a meeting outside or need some fresh air, you can simply pack up and go outside to stretch your legs. Very flexible and dynamic, especially for those business travellers or green kictstarters.

What About Serviced Office?

Many businessmen go for serviced office for 3 main reasons - Privacy, Getting the Best Ready-to-Use Service at where they work, and having the ability to use a rather Long-Term Office Area for the growing team to locate. For example, for some start-ups or SMEs that value their own privacy a lot like IT, designs or investment industries, possessing their own private working spaces so that an easy interpersonal communication can be made is crucial. 

Comparatively, a serviced office is more suitable for those rather matured companies, looking for a fully furnished private office unit at a premier location like CENTRAL to match with their brand / company size. Also, they can make use of the glamorous meeting rooms on the same floor next to their offices to meet up with the important clients conveniently.

What to Pick?

So basically a well established Business Centre can fulfill both your co-working space and serviced office needs, and you can even make the utmost benefit by using both services at different stages: using the cost-effective and flexible co-working space during your start-up stage, and starting to rent the larger serviced office unit with privacy and decent working environment when your firm is more developed and thus requires a better company image.

No matter what workspace type you will pick based on your status and requirements, it is suggested to find a compatible and reliable Business Centre having both co-working space and serviced office options so you don’t need to troublesomely switch from one service provider to another when you need the other workspace type at a later time.

Another huge benefit a Business Centre like BRIDGES can bring to you is that we will not only offer a prime office space but also take care of all your corporate needs and matters like ours, such as accounting & audit arrangement, tax filing, legal advice arrangement, working visa, trademark for company registration, etc. with our experienced in-house specialists who can come to you and provide face-to-face advice promptly on your different queries.

Trademark is crucial not only in today’s world. Did you know the 1st trademark users are Romans who need  a ™ for their swords?

Everyone talks about ™, is it really necessary? A REAL need?

Getting a trademark for your business or not is definitely a personal choice but we have to say sometimes your business name or appearance of your product is probably one of the most valuable assets for you. In this blog we will walk you through what trademark can do for your company and the workflow + tips of trademark application in HK. Ready for safeguarding your names / products that could be the swords of your company?
 

What Can Trademark Do for You?

Trademark, the mark “™” is usually used for distinguishing products and services of a particular company / an individual owner from those of others in the market.

Yet, bear in mind that the HK Companies Registry and HK Trade Marks Registry are 2 different authorities. Some of my clients would often get confused with these two departments but I have always reminded them having the company registered does not mean it would automatically register for your trademark or you will be entitled to any trademark rights.

In other words, if you would like to enjoy the exclusive right to use your company’s name or logo, it is inevitable to get a trademark, by which you can use it in relation to the products / services / inventions of yours and it will save you a lot of hassles when your products or services provision get more popular in time. Actually some clients might come to me late (they just ignored this part from the start and suddenly remembered after a couple of years of the incorporation), then found out their business / product name has already been taken by others in their preferred category (i.e. a class of trademark, like machine tools; cooking; telecommunications; etc.) and so they couldn’t register in that category now. It is cruel to see how the businesses may have just ignored the importance of trademark and suffered from the plagiarising behaviour at the end, realising they should have taken this step earlier. We hope you are not one of those who paid a huge cost here.

Talking about the exclusive trademark right, many people may mix up “™” and  “®”. Generally, the “™” symbol can be used either or not the trademark is registered.  But the “®” symbol means this trademark is a registered one, and you are entitled to the exclusive trademark right provided by the Trade Marks Registry. In other words, by obtaining this right, your company can then apply the “®” symbol next to your company’s name or logo as an identification. You can take legal actions against any parties that violate the trademark law, such as using your trademark without your consent / agreement. This could set a firewall from anyone who may be tempted to take your trademark’s benefits (could be company name, products, inventions, ideas, etc).

Be the First-Mover in Your Market?

Moreover, having a trademark can also be a first-mover advantage for your company, for you can easily dominate the market if you have a newly-invented product or service. Any newcomers would then be hard to get an identical trademark anytime soon. In essence, it gives you a chance to become the market leader if you act quickly with the trademark registration.

To share some latest trends with you, according to our experience, if a HK company owns a registered trademark, it will become a whole lot easier to cooperate with her mainland China partners because those Chinese companies tend to believe you are a reputable company and they are willing to pay extra for your products / services, which makes the whole trademark registration very worthwhile as it just costs you less than HK$100 per month for owning the 10-years trademark right.

Easy-to-Prepare Materials for Registration

Before kicking off the registration, simply provide us with 4 basic information below:-

• The trademark you would like to register graphically
   
• What products / services are to be covered by this trademark? (i.e. the trademark class, like food for babies; hygienic and beauty care; etc.)
   
• Would you like an official search / non-official search first? (such a search is for ensuring your trademark is available for registration)
   
• Information of the trademark’s owner

Simple as that!

Just 5 Steps for HK Trademark Registration

Trademark registration sounds complicated yet it is not as hard as you thought. Just pass us the above 4 materials, and our experienced advisor will guide you step by step throughout the whole process, whether you are a local or overseas firm. Here we’ll give you some ideas about the steps:-

1. File the Application

Gather all necessary information of your product / creations / services and we will assist you in submitting the application. Generally the whole application procedure can take as little as 6 months.

2. Deficiencies Checking

The Trade Marks Registry will conduct a thorough check on the application and provided documents. The authority will get in touch with us if further information is required.

3. Search and Examination

The Trade Marks Registry will then perform a proper search to see if any identical or similar trademark has already been registered. The authority will also review and see if the submitted trademark is proper and fits the Trademark Ordinance’s requirements.

4. Objections (There might or might not be one)

If anyhow the requirements are not met, the Trade Marks Registry has the authority to object the application. Yet, applicants are granted with 6 months for amendments in order to meet the requirements.

5. Registration

Once your trademark has been accepted for registration, it will be published in the Hong Kong Intellectual Property Journal. If no opposition by a 3rd party is made, the Trade Marks Registry will enter your trademark into the trademarks register and you will be issued with a certificate of registration, meanwhile the notice of the registration will be published in the Journal too. As the owner of a registered trademark, your rights take effect from the filing date of the application, which allow you to use for 10 years.

Finally, How to Make Your Trademark Stand Out?

A trademark is not simply a company or business name, it can be a group of elements joined together like logo, image, symbol, etc. Now we are going to give you some hints on creating a distinctive trademark:-

- Be creative, you have to put a little effort into thinking about the uniqueness of your trademark, for instance, in food industry, using “MEAT FOOD” instead of “MEET FOOD” would give the Trade Marks Registry a huge reason to object your application since the chance of getting a similar trademark is massive.

- No description on the products in terms of quantity or quality like “100 Chicken Wings” or “Quality Chicken Wings”.

- No geographical name like “Milano Fashion”.

- Use your invented product name would be the best since as it would most likely be innovative.

If you are not sure whether you are having a trademark idea similar with others, come check with us, I am Cherry from the Trademark Team and I will apply my expertise to help you speed up and ease up the application process. It would be my great pleasure to walk you through how to make it done and give you my instant answers to smoothen your journey.