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The Government today (August 31) launched a public consultation on the drafting approach and direction for the new Copyright Tribunal rules to be made pursuant to section 174(1) of the Copyright Ordinance (Cap 528).
The Copyright Tribunal is an independent, quasi-judicial body established under the Copyright Ordinance to hear and resolve certain types of disputes relating to use/licensing of copyright works.
A spokesman for the Intellectual Property Department said, "The Government is committed to providing a new set of concise and user-friendly rules to modernise the practice and procedure of the tribunal with a view to not only maintaining the fairness of the proceedings but also making the proceedings as flexible, convenient and cost-effective as possible in accordance with contemporary dispute resolution practice."
The Government's proposals on the drafting approach and direction are contained in its consultation paper available on the websites of Intellectual Property Department (http://www.ipd.gov.hk/) and the Copyright Tribunal (http://www.ct.gov.hk/). The key proposals are:
1. Applying the relevant principles of the Civil Justice Reform as the fundamental value of dispute resolution before the tribunal;
2. Prescribing one standard procedure and application form for all types of applications/references before the tribunal;
3. Empowering the tribunal to exercise active case management;
4. Promoting Alternative Dispute Resolution;
5. Empowering a single member of the tribunal to exercise certain adjudication powers;
6. Using Practice Directions to regulate proceedings before the tribunal, if appropriate; and
7. Prescribing a set of self-contained rules
The spokesman said the consultation would close on September 30. ¡§The Government welcomes views from the community, in particular professional and copyright licensing bodies, about the proposals. We will take full account of community views when deciding the way forward for the new Copyright Tribunal rules.¡¨
People are welcome to submit their views and comments by September 30 to the Director of Intellectual Property by email, fax or post at the following addresses and number:
Email: co_ctr@ipd.gov.hk
Fax: 2574 9102
Address: 25/F, Wu Chung House, 213 Queen's Road East, Wan Chai, Hong Kong
Ends/Monday, August 31, 2009
Issued at HKT 16:52
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