Protection of Intellectual Property Rights

The Government is committed to protecting intellectual property rights. This commitment is underpinned by a respect for private economic rights and a recognition of the importance of a robust protection regime for intellectual property rights to Hong Kong's economic growth. The intellectual property regime in the HKSAR is in full compliance with international standards and norms.

Trade Marks

The Trade Marks Registry is responsible for the registration of trade marks in respect of goods and services. Every mark must satisfy the requirements of the Trade Marks Ordinance before it can be accepted for registration in the HKSAR. The procedure for applying for registration is laid down in the Trade Marks Rules. In 2001, 20 945 applications were received, of which 15 096 were in respect of goods and 5 849 were in respect of services. During the period, 14 219 marks were registered, a decrease of 16.0 per cent compared with 16 920 in 2000. The principal places from which applications originated were:

USA 3 461 Switzerland 644
HKSAR 2 962 France 623
Japan 1 485 British Virgin Islands 440
Germany 790 Taiwan 350
United Kingdom 714 Singapore 187


The register had a total of 146 220 marks as at December 31, 2001.

The Intellectual Property Department has started the development of a new computer system, through an outsourced service provider, to facilitate the implementation of the new Trade Marks Ordinance, which is scheduled to come into force in 2002.

Patents

The Patents Ordinance provides for the grant of standard patents based on patents granted in the State Intellectual Property Office of the People's Republic of China, and the United Kingdom Patent Office or the European Patent Office (in respect of patents designating the United Kingdom). It also provides for the grant of short-term patents. In 2001, the Patents Registry received 8 914 standard patent applications and 1 146 were granted. During the period, there were also 312 applications for grant of short-term patents, and 271 were granted.

Registered Designs

The Registered Designs Ordinance enables designs to be registered independently in the HKSAR. In 2001, the Designs Registry received 1 977 applications for registration of 2 777 designs, comprising 1 639 single-design applications and 338 multiple-design applications. During the period, 2 864 designs were registered.

Copyright

The Copyright Ordinance provides protection for literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works, typographical arrangements of published editions, sound recordings, films, broadcasts, cable programmes, and performers' performances irrespective of the domicile of the copyright owners. In line with international standards, there is no requirement to register copyright.

New Legislation

The Intellectual Property (Miscellaneous Amendments) Ordinance 2000 took effect on April 1, 2001 after wide publicity. It makes the unauthorised possession of video recording equipment in cinemas, theatres and concert halls an offence, and amends the Copyright Ordinance in relation to copyright infringement in trade or business. To address the public concern that the amendments to the Copyright Ordinance had hampered the dissemination of information in enterprises as well as teaching activities in schools, the Copyright (Suspension of Amendments) Ordinance 2001 was passed by the Legislative Council in June. As a result, the criminal provisions in the recently amended Copyright Ordinance will continue to apply, with a slightly narrowed scope, to computer programmes, movies, television dramas and music recordings. For copyright works other than these four categories, the criminal provisions will revert to the position before the amendments took effect.

The Intellectual Property (Miscellaneous Amendments) Ordinance 2001 was passed by the Legislative Council in February but has not yet entered into force. This ordinance makes miscellaneous amendments to the Patents Ordinance and the Registered Designs Ordinance.

In July, the Registration of Copyright Licensing Bodies Regulation was made to enhance the transparency of copyright licensing bodies. As at December 31, one copyright licensing body was registered with the Director of Intellectual Property.

Enforcement

The Customs and Excise Department is responsible for enforcing the criminal law for the protection of copyright and trade marks. It investigates intellectual property rights infringement reports and takes action against the manufacture, distribution, sale, import and export of pirated or counterfeit goods. Since April, the department has been taking action against corporate copyright piracy activities involving the possession of pirated computer programmes, movies, television dramas, or musical recordings in business. Action was also taken against the unauthorised possession of video recording equipment in cinemas, theatres or concert halls, thereby preventing illegal recording of copyright work.

During the year, the department detected seven corporate piracy cases, resulting in the arrest of 12 persons and the seizures of infringing computer software with a market value of $61,460, as estimated by the copyright owners. During the year, no report on unauthorised possession of video recording equipment in cinemas, theatres or concert halls was filed with the department.

The department maintains stringent control on all optical disc factories to prevent them from engaging in copyright piracy activities. Optical disc manufacturers are required to apply for a licence from the Commissioner of Customs and Excise. At the end of the year, 74 licensed optical disc factories and 533 optical disc production lines were registered by the department.

During the year, the department processed 12 301 cases and arrested 1 686 persons in connection with copyright piracy activities. The total quantity of items seized amounted to 9.27 million, valued at $256.7 million. The department also processed 977 cases relating to counterfeit goods and goods bearing false trade descriptions. A total of 581 persons were arrested and 51.1 million pieces of counterfeit goods, valued at $213.8 million, seized.

The formation of a Special Task Force, comprising 147 Customs officers, was made permanent and the task force continued to take action against illicit manufacturing and retailing of optical discs. The department also carried out large-scale operations at 'black-spot' retail outlets and at licensed optical disc factories suspected to be involved in piracy.

As a result of the department's vigorous enforcement action, large-scale illicit optical disc manufacturing activities, for which expensive replicating machines were used, had been successfully stamped out, and no large-scale activity was detected in 2001. It appeared that copyright pirates were turning to smaller scale operations by setting up copying workshops equipped with CD-writers to manufacture pirated discs. The department seized 1 569 CD-writers, valued at $3.95 million, and arrested 97 persons.

Since its establishment in early 2000, the department's Anti-Internet Piracy Team has detected 10 Internet piracy cases, resulting in total seizure of pirated goods and equipment valued at $270,000, and the arrest of 17 persons.

Public Education

During the year, the Intellectual Property Department continued to focus on organising a series of activities to keep up the momentum of public education. Consumers and retailers were encouraged to join the ongoing campaigns, 'I Pledge' and 'No Fakes', respectively to show their commitment to buy, use and sell genuine goods. Different seminars were organised for school principals, teachers, school administrators, librarians, business organisations and civil servants. Information leaflets were published to explain the Intellectual Property (Miscellaneous Amendments) Ordinance 2000. An intellectual property reference kit was produced and distributed to some 2 300 business organisations to help them gain a better understanding of the laws.

The second phase of the 'Inventors' Millennium Vision' Competition was satisfactorily concluded in July. The competition, jointly organised with the Hong Kong Inventors Association and the Summer Youth Programme Committee, served to educate the public to respect inventions and inventors' rights. The department also participated in various exhibitions, including the SME Market Day, Comics Festival, IT Festivals and iDEA Expo 2001.

In 2001, the department continued its visit programme to secondary schools. Visits to 68 schools with a total of 26 540 students were conducted. The production of a web-based interactive teaching kit on intellectual property began in September and was expected to be completed by October 2002.

With the support of the Anti-piracy Alliance, the department produced a television series of 13 short episodes. The series dealt with piracy and counterfeiting activities and focused on how to avoid infringing other's intellectual property rights in everyday situations. Broadcasting of the programme began in December.

A three-day 'Creativity Fair' was held at the Tamar Site in November. It aimed to promote creativity and respect for intellectual property rights. It was preceded by a 'Make a Famous Song New' Contest held in September.

To strengthen ties with international and regional intellectual property organisations, the department co-hosted a workshop with the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) in Hong Kong in December. The workshop facilitated exchange of information and experience on compliance with intellectual property legislation by government organisations in the region. The department will host an APEC Training Seminar and the 14th meeting of the APEC Intellectual Property Rights Experts Group cum Symposium on Traditional Medicine in February and March 2002, respectively.

Participation in International Organisations

The Intellectual Property Department continued to participate in the activities of the WTO Council for Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) in 2001. The department initiated a paper on Technical Assistance on TRIPS Notification between WTO members to assist the least-developed members of the WTO to comply with the TRIPS Agreement. The department also represented Hong Kong, China at other international and regional intellectual property symposia and conferences, including the 12th meeting of APEC IPEG held in Sydney, Australia in March and the 13th meeting of APEC IPEG held in Taiwan in July. Representatives of the department also attended conferences at the WIPO, including the Conferences on Private International Law and the conferences held by various committees including the Standing Committee on Trademarks, Industrial Designs and Geographical Indications, the Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights, and the Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore.