*********************************************************
The Government has put in place a highly advanced legal regime for the protection of intellectual property rights in Hong Kong, said the Secretary for Commerce and Industry, Mr CHAU Tak Hay, today (July 26).
Addressing the opening of a seminar on intellectual property rights organised by the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce, Mr Chau outlined the various measures taken by the Government for the protection of intellectual property rights in Hong Kong.
Mr Chau said that over the past four years, the Government had completely modernised the laws for protecting patents, registered design, copyright and trade marks, bringing them into line with the highest international standards.
Mr Chau noted that the strength of Hong Kong's intellectual property rights protection regime was recognised internationally. Just last month, the World Trade Organisation (WTO) completed a thorough review of the intellectual property rights laws of Hong Kong.
"I am glad to say that our laws were highly regarded by other WTO members and were considered as being fully consistent with the international standards laid down by the WTO.
"However, we are not complacent. We keep our laws under constant review. In June, we enacted new legislation to clarify the Copyright Ordinance to put it beyond doubt that anyone who knowingly uses an infringing copy of copyright work in the course of business commits a criminal offence.
"This means that a company which uses, say, pirated accounting software for its business, or photocopies a book without licence from the copyright owner, may be liable to criminal prosecution."
The Government plans to bring this new law into effect in 2001 after wide publicity.
Mr Chau made it clear that the protection of intellectual property rights required the full participation of everyone in the community. He recognised that the Government itself must set a good example, and explained that a software asset management system had been adopted by Government Departments.
An intellectual property compliance officer has been appointed in each Government Department to oversee compliance matters. Civil servants who use unauthorised computer software on government premises will be subject to disciplinary action.
Apart from new legislation, Mr Chau pointed out that our robust legal regime was backed up by vigorous enforcement, under which both the manpower for enforcement and the penalties against the production and sale of infringing products had been substantially increased over the past few years.
"We have enacted tough legislation to control the manufacture of optical discs to tackle copyright piracy at the production level, as well as to prevent bootlegging.
"We have classified certain piracy and counterfeiting acts as offences under the Organised and Serious Crimes Ordinance, whereby Customs officers are given additional powers to tackle them, particularly where criminal syndicates are involved," he said.
As a result of the strong enforcement efforts, in 1999 alone the Government seized some 16.5 million pirated optical discs and 14 production lines worth over $360 million, and arrested some 2 700 persons.
On the retail level, last year there were some 1 000 retail outlets of pirated compact discs with some five million pirated discs in the market place at any one time. At present, there are fewer than 100 outlets with some 100 000 discs in the market place at any one time. The reduction in volume is about 98 per cent. The piracy problem is now well under control.
To ensure all Hong Kong citizens will respect intellectual property rights, the Government will spend $17 million between 1999 and 2002 to enhance public education in this area.
Mr Chau applauded the Chamber for its commitment to the protection of intellectual property rights by issuing the Code of Ethics on Protection of Intellectual Property Rights for the business community to follow.
End/Wednesday, July 26, 2000
NNNN