Thai Hom Mali Rice – the highest grade of Thai rice – is a beloved household staple for consumers worldwide and in Hong Kong. It has been said that the softness, aromas and appearance of the rice are the reasons why it has won the heart of Hong Kong foodies. The popularity of this world-renowned rice means it is important the Thai Hom Mali Rice logo must be properly protected and safeguarded. In Hong Kong, the Thai government had sought protection for the logo in the registration of a coveted certification mark. Certification marks are very difficult to secure. In 2020, only a mere 16 certification mark applications were accepted and published in Hong Kong, compared to 33,865 ‘ordinary’ trade marks in the same period. The difficulty lies in the strict requirements under the law and laid out by the local Registry which must be satisfied by certification mark applicants. These include the preparation of regulations governing the use of the certification mark and demonstrating the applicant’s competence in certifying the goods and/or services concerned. The application process therefore usually takes multiple rounds of correspondence with the Registry and easily lasts 5 to 10 years. ELLALAN’s trade marks team recently assisted the Department of Foreign Trade, Thailand, in securing a certification mark registration for the Thai Hom Mali Rice logo. With our expertise, we were able to satisfy the regulation requirements in, astoundingly, only one round of correspondence with the Registry, significantly reducing the application time for our client. We would also like to take this opportunity to congratulate our client in securing its certification mark registration. The ELLALAN team in this matter was comprised of partner Valerie Suen and associate Tiffany Lam.