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The Intellectual Property Department (IPD) today (March 11) held a seminar entitled "Recent Amendment to Hong Kong Copyright Law concerning Business End-User of Copyright Works" to promote corporate accountability and responsible governance in ensuring compliance with the copyright law in business establishments. About 300 participants from various industries attended the seminar.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, the Director of Intellectual Property, Mr Stephen Selby, said, "A new copying and distribution offence under the Copyright (Amendment) Ordinance will come into force in the second half of this year. The business sector needs to understand the new provisions and strengthen its corporate governance and accountability to ensure compliance."
Representatives from the IPD, the Law Society of Hong Kong, the Intellectual Property Investigation Bureau of the Customs and Excise Department, the Hong Kong Copyright Licensing Association and the Hong Kong Reprographic Rights Licensing explained to the participants the new copying and distribution offence under the Copyright (Amendment) Ordinances passed in 2007 and 2009 and shared tips on copyright compliance in business.
The new offence targets regular or frequent copying or distribution of unauthorised copies of four types of copyright works (newspapers, magazines, books and periodicals) in the course of business activities. This offence will not apply to limited copying of printed works. The Government has prescribed guidelines on the limits applied in different situations.
A Guidance Note on Prevention of End-User Piracy in Business (Revised Edition 2010) was distributed to the participants in the seminar. This Guidance Note outlines the types of business end-user piracy that may be criminally liable under the Copyright Ordinance, the responsibilities of directors/partners of a business, and some suggested good practices that organisations and their senior management may adopt to help guard against business end-user piracy.
The seminar programme and Guidance Note are available on the IPD's website (www.ipd.gov.hk).
Ends/Thursday, March 11, 2010
Issued at HKT 16:35
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