Piracy Problems in China, Taiwan and Hong Kong

Piracy Problems in Hong Kong

Development of Rules and Regulations

Hong Kong's major ordinances on copyright protection are (1) Copyright Ordinance as amended by Intellectual Property (Miscellaneous Amendments) Ordinance 2000, (2) Copyright (Suspension of Amendments) Ordinance 2001 and (3) Prevention of Copyright Piracy Ordinance. The Copyright Ordinance was first introduced to Hong Kong in 1990 by extension of the United Kingdom Copyright Act 1956. As Hong Kong is a founding member of the WTO, it has the obligation to comply with TRIPS. Since July 1, 1997, by virtue of China's membership, the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works, the Paris Convention on Industrial Property, and the Universal Copyright Convention (Geneva, Paris) apply to Hong Kong (Department of State, USA, 2001).Hong Kong's major ordinances on copyright protection are (1) Copyright Ordinance as amended by Intellectual Property (Miscellaneous Amendments) Ordinance 2000, (2) Copyright (Suspension of Amendments) Ordinance 2001 and (3) Prevention of Copyright Piracy Ordinance. The Copyright Ordinance was first introduced to Hong Kong in 1990 by extension of the United Kingdom Copyright Act 1956. As Hong Kong is a founding member of the WTO, it has the obligation to comply with TRIPS. Since July 1, 1997, by virtue of China's membership, the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works, the Paris Convention on Industrial Property, and the Universal Copyright Convention (Geneva, Paris) apply to Hong Kong (Department of State, USA, 2001).

Action taken by Hong Kong and Response of the US

Year Action taken by HK Significance
1995 In May, Legislative Council increased criminal penalties for commercial piracy: jail terms of up to 8 years were provided for the most serious cases. US criticised the Hong Kong government incapable of combating the continuous influx of pirated material from China and the fine levels of laws the lowest in Asia. International Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA) recommended to place Hong Kong on the Special 301 Watch List for the first time (IIPA, 1996)

Feb 1999
Hong Kong was removed from the Special 301 Watch List. However, the report released by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) stated that 'HK piracy rates, which are some of the highest in the world, have not been significantly reduced. Hong Kong has only just begun to address the situation since that review. The U.S. remains deeply concerned that Hong Kong has not devoted adequate resources to address the piracy problem.'

2000
The Legislative Council reclassified piracy under Hong Kong's Organized and Serious Crimes Ordinance.
In Jan 2002, in the Ninth Report on the Hong Kong Transition presented to the US Congress, it was stated that 'Hong Kong continues to make progress in the fight against copyright piracy. Legislation was introduced ... reclassify IPR piracy as a serious crime ... The 185-member Special Task Force established by the Customs and Excise Offices continues to perform effectively ... The USTR now cites Hong Kong as a model for other Asian economies attempting to deal with IPR piracy.' (Retrieved in April 2003 from http://www.freeconomy.org/ freeconomy/eng/test/page_b72.html)

2001
After the establishment of the Special Task Force in the Customs and Excise Department, around 90 percent of the retail outlets selling pirated optical discs of all types were closed.