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The Government have adopted a multi-pronged approach encompassing public education, law enforcement and industry cooperation to address the problem of copyright infringement, the Secretary for Commerce, Industry and Technology, Mr John Tsang, said today (October 26).
Speaking at the opening ceremony of CASBAA 2005, Mr Tsang pointed out that infringement on copyright via the Internet was a key issue for both the industry and the Government.
"We intend to review our Copyright Ordinance to consider whether and how legislative amendments might be justified for more effective protection of copyright works in the digital environment.
"The Government has invited views from stakeholders on four issues identified, namely, whether a technologically neutral right of communication should be introduced for copyright owners; how to facilitate copyright owners to take civil action against infringing activities on the Internet; whether statutory damages for civil infringements should be introduced; and the role of ISPs in the fight against Internet piracy.
"We shall study the relevant legislation in overseas jurisdictions. After completing our study, we shall consult the public on this important subject as soon as possible," Mr Tsang said.
Regarding the regulation of the broadcasting industry, Mr Tsang pointed out that there had been increasing competition in the provision of television services in Hong Kong.
"There are plans to launch high-definition TV and interactive services. The two free-to-air terrestrial broadcasters are vigorously preparing to switch to digital mode. Live broadcasting to mobile phones is in the pipeline. There are also different strategic alliances among network operators and media companies.
"The cross-sectoral matrix is getting more and more complex. As a result, the regulators nowadays need not only an agile mind, but also cross-boundary vision and profound expertise just to cope with the surface of such challenges.
"We have been thinking of merging the broadcasting regulator with the telecommunications regulator, and changing the regulatory mode from ex-ante to ex-post in order to manage properly the persistent phenomenon of lagging behind the times.
"We will be consulting the industry and the public very soon on how we shall take forward the initiative of setting up this unified regulator," Mr Tsang said.
Ends/Wednesday, October 26, 2005
Issued at HKT 17:01
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