Banner:Database on Particular Policy Issues - Commerce and Industry

Copyright protection



DateContextSummary of developmentAction
1997 - The Legislative Council formed a bills committee to scrutinize the Copyright Bill. The Bills Committee held 19 meetings [Meeting schedules] and reported to the House Committee on 13.6.97 [Report (CB(1)1842/96-97, no softcopy)]. The Bill was passed by the Council on 24.6.97. [Hansard]

The Copyright Ordinance stipulated that works transmitted on the Internet, like the works transmitted through other media, enjoyed copyright protection.
8.9.97 TI The Panel discussed the Administration's paper which outlined the Government's strategy in the fight against copyright piracy and reported on the latest enforcement efforts and initiatives in hand. [Paper]

Having envisaged an increase in piracy through the Internet environment, the Administration pointed out that they had requested their counterparts in the United States to assist in offering training opportunities in the fight against piracy in this format. The Administration had also invited representatives from the copyright industry to brief them on developments.
20.1.99 CQ Hon YEUNG Yiu-chung raised a question on protection of intellectual property rights of information on the Internet. [Hansard]
10.11.99 CQ Hon MA Fung-kwok raised a question on copyright infringement on the Internet. [Hansard "page 32"]
15.2.00 TI The Panel met the deputations and discussed with the Administration on matters relating to the verification of copyright authorizations. [Paper]

The Administration was requested to provide further information on the prevention and control of Internet privacy and infringement activities. [Minutes "page 10"]
8.6.00 TI The Panel discussed the Administration's paper which set out the latest position on a number of issues, including prevention and control of Internet privacy, discussed at the meeting held on 15.2.00. [Paper]
4/01 - The Legislative Council passed the Intellectual Property (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill 2000 on 7.2.01 which introduced end-user criminal liability in the Copyright Ordinance. The Bill came into effect on 1.4.2001. [Papers relating to the Bill]
9.4.01 CI The Panel discussed the Administration's paper which reported on measures taken by the Government in implementing the Intellectual Property (Miscellaneous Amendments) Ordinance 2000 (the Amending Ordinance), and the enforcement of the Ordinance. [Paper]

The Administration advised that the amendments would not affect the exemptions for educational activities under the Copyright Ordinance. These activities included extracting copyright works for uploading onto the intranet of a school for use within the school, and downloading from the Internet articles and pictures for the purpose of instruction.
12.4.01 CI The Panel met deputations and discussed with the Administration to follow up on the enforcement action following the commencement of the Amending Ordinance.

Noting that the enactment of the Intellectual Property (Miscellaneous Amendments) Ordinance 2000 had aroused much concern and heated discussion in the community, the Administration had decided to draft a simple amendment bill with the aim of suspending the implementation of the Ordinance concerning criminal provisions as they affected works in the printing media including newspapers, magazines, periodicals and books, as well as broadcasts and cable programmes, and the downloading of information from internet. But the suspension would not apply to the downloading of computer programmes, music or films from the Internet. [Statement of the Secretary for Commerce and Industry (SCI)]
19.4.01 CI The Panel discussed the draft Copyright (Suspension of Amendments) Bill 2001. [Draft Bill] [Paper]

The Panel supported in principle the introduction of the Bill which suspended the application of the Amending Ordinance on the following key criminal provisions in the Copyright Ordinance insofar as they applied to -
  		• works in the printed media
  		• works in sound or television broadcast; and
  		• works downloaded from internet.
    subject to some exceptions. The exceptions included computer programs, visual or audio recordings of music or songs, television dramas and movies. The works excluded generally have substantial commercial value and are not normally 'information' disseminated in enterprises or schools. Moreover, piracy of these works in Hong Kong and elsewhere is rampant.

    The Panel also recommended that a subcommittee should be form under the House Committee (HC) to examine the draft Bill in detail and the proposed fast-track legislative process for the scrutiny of the Bill.
    20.4.01 HC HC agreed to set up a subcommittee to scrutinize the draft Copyright (Suspension of Amendments) Bill 2001. The Subcommittee held 2 meetings [Meeting schedule] and reported its deliberations to HC on 4.5.01 [Report] .
    4.5.01 HC HC agreed that a bills committee should be formed to take over the work of the Subcommittee to scrutinize the Copyright (Suspension of Amendments) Bill 2001.

    The Bills Committee held 5 meetings [Meeting schedules] and reported its deliberations to HC on 15.6.01 [Report].
    20.6.01 COU The Copyright (Suspension of Amendments) Bill 2001 was passed by the Council on 20.6.01. The Ordinance provides for the suspension to be lifted on 31.7.02 or on such other date as SCI may specify by notice published in the Gazette subject to the approval of the Legislative Council. [Hansard "page 111"]
    1.11.01 PRESS The Administration published a consultation document entitled "Review of Certain Provisions of the Copyright Ordinance" [LegCo Brief] to solicit the views of the public on improving certain provisions of the Copyright Ordinance. The two-month consultation ended on 21.12.01 [Press release].
    4.2.02 CI The Administration briefed members on the legislative proposals arising from the consultation "Review of Certain Provisions of the Copyright Ordinance". [Paper]
    25.3.02 FC At the special Finance Committee (FC) meeting, SCI informed members of the Administration's decision to make permanent arrangement of the Copyright (Suspension of Amendments) Ordinance 2001 and to further improve other provisions. [SCI's speaking note]
    25.6.02 CI The Panel discussed the Administration's proposal to extend the suspension period of the Copyright (Suspension of Amendments) Ordinance 2001 for one year from 31.7.02 to 31.7.03. The rationale of the extension was to ensure that LegCo would have sufficient time to scrutinize the amendment bill to make the suspension arrangements permanent, the draft of which was under preparation at that moment. [Information paper]
    8.7.02 CI The Administration briefed members on the Copyright (Amendment) Bill 2002. One of the proposals was to make the suspension arrangements permanent. [Paper]
    14.2.03 HC As both the Copyright (Amendment) Bill 2001 and the Copyright (Amendment) Bill 2003 (formerly known as Copyright (Amendment) Bill 2002) contained provisions relating to parallel importation, HC agreed that the same Bills Committee should study both bills in order to avoid possible confusion and to achieve consistency in drafting. The then Bills Committee on the 2001 Bill was renamed as the Bills Committee on Copyright (Amendment) Bill 2001 and Copyright (Amendment) Bill 2003. The Bills Committee decided to complete scrutiny of the 2001 Bill first.

    The Bills Committee held 17 meetings [Meeting schedules]. It reported to HC its deliberations on the 2001 Bill in June and July 2003 and those on the 2003 Bill in March 2004.
    6/03 CI The Administration issued an information paper to brief the Panel on its proposal to further extend the expiry date of the Copyright (Suspension of Amendments) Ordinance 2001 from 31.7.03 to 31.7.04 to ensure that the Bills Committee on Copyright (Amendment) Bill 2001 and Copyright (Amendment) Bill 2003 had sufficient time to examine the 2003 Bill. [Paper]
    2.7.03 COU The Council passed the Copyright (Amendment) Bill 2001 on 2.7.04 [Hansard "page 145"]
    24.3.04 COU The Council passed the Copyright (Amendment) Bill 2003 on 24.3.04. [Hansard "page 83"]
    25.3.04 ITB In connection with the discussion on "Measures to facilitate the development of film industry" at the Panel meeting, organizations attending the meeting raised concern about the increase in activities relating to making available movie products on the Internet for access and downloading through various means of transfer, in particular, the so called peer-to-peer by users without the authorization of the copyright owners concerned. The CI Panel was invited to explore the subject further.[Paper]
    6/04 CI Information note on Peer-to-Peer (P2P) File Sharing and Copyright Infringement prepared by the Research and Library Services Division was circulated to members. [Paper]
    7.7.04 CQ Hon SIN Chung-kai raised a question on copyright protection for works in digital form. [Hansard "page 103"]
    9.12.04 CI Consultation document on review of certain provisions of Copyright Ordinance [Consultation paper]
    18.1.05 CI The Panel discussed the consultation document on review of certain provisions of Copyright Ordinance [Paper] [Background brief]
    15.2.05 CI The Panel discussed the paper on the actions taken by the Government to combat infringing activities on peer-to peer file sharing networks. [Paper] [Extract of minutes of ITB Panel meeting on 25 March 2004]
    15.6.05 CQ Hon WONG Ting-kwong raised a question on registration of intellectual properties [Hansard "page 48"]
    21.6.05 CI The Administration briefed the Panel on the results of the consultation exercise and introduced the Administration's preliminary proposals on various copyright-related issues. [Paper] [Background brief]
    19.7.05 CI The Panel met with deputations and the Administration on the preliminary proposals on various copyright-related issues proposed by the Administration.
    15.11.05 CI The Panel discussed a paper provided by the Administration which responded to the major feedbacks from stakeholder groups on the preliminary proposals and explained the Administration's proposed refinements to some of the proposals [Paper] [Background brief]
    18.7.06 CI The Panel discussed the paper on the result of the Administration's study regarding members' suggestion to establish a copyright register in Hong Kong and the Administration's suggestion to put on hold its earlier proposal to prescribe overseas copyright registers by way of regulation made under the Copyright Ordinance (Cap. 528) [Paper]
    3/06 to 6/07 BC The Administration introduced the Copyright (Amendment) Bill 2006 into the LegCo on 29.3.06 and a Bills Committee was formed on 31.3.06 to scrutinize the Bill.

    The Bills Committee held 24 meetings. [Bills Committee on Copyright (Amendment) Bill 2006]

    The Bills Committee reported its deliberations to the House Committee on 8.6.07. [Report]

    The Council passed the Bill on 27.6.07. [Hansard "page 117"]
    22.11.06 CQ Hon Emily LAU Wai-hing raised a question on the Youth Ambassador Against Internet Piracy Scheme. [Hansard "page 92"]
    19.12.06 CI To enhance the awareness of and respect for intellectual property rights among the business community, the Intellectual Property Department, in collaboration with the Business Software Alliance, launched the Business Software Certification Programme on 23 October 2006. The Administration briefed members on the Programme details. [Paper]
    16.1.07 CI The Administration briefed the Panel on the consultation document on copyright protection in the digital environment. [Paper]
    12.12.07 CQ Hon WONG Ting-kwong raised a question on the use of pirated software by private companies. [Hansard "page 73"]
    9.1.08 CQ Hon LAU Kong-wah raised a question on commencement of the rental right provisions on video discs and comic books. [Hansard "page 70"]
    19.2.08 CI
    The Administration briefed the Panel on:
    (a)publicity and public education activities conducted by the Administration following the Copyright (Amendment) Ordinance 2007;
    (b)proposed "Safe Harbour" Regulation;
    (c)first List of Exceptions on Act of Circumvention;
    (d)commencement timetable for provisions that were yet to come into operation; and
    (e)the Administration's response to views expressed by relevant industry players on rental rights for films.
    [Paper] [Administration's response to views expressed by relevant industry players on rental rights for films] [Follow-up paper]
    27.2.08 CQ Hon SIN Chung-kai raised a question on the protection of intellectual property rights of inventors. [Hansard "page 47"]
    15.4.08 CI The Administration briefed the Panel on the results of a public consultation exercise on "Copyright Protection in the Digital Environment" conducted from December 2006 to April 2007, and its preliminary proposals in this regard. [Paper] [Background brief]
    28.5.08 CQ Hon SIN Chung-kai raised a question on regulation of dealing in devices and provision of services which aim to circumvent technological measures applied in the protection of copyright works. [Hansard "page 85"]
    16.12.08 CI The Administration briefed the Panel on follow-up to the Copyright (Amendment) Ordinance 2007: (a) refined proposals in relation to the copying and distribution offence under section 119B of the Copyright Ordinance for the Safe Harbour Regulation; and (b) rental rights for Comics. [Paper] [Background brief] [Follow-up paper]
    18.3.09 CQ Hon WONG Ting-kwong raised a question on pirated copies and parallel-imported copies of copyright works. [Hansard "page 75"]
    5/09 BC The Administration introduced the Copyright (Amendment) Bill 2009 into the LegCo on 24 April 2009 and a Bills Committee was formed on 8 May 2009 to scrutinize the Bill. [Bills Committee on Copyright (Amendment) Bill 2009]

    The Bills Committee reported its deliberations to the House Committee on 23 October 2009. [Report]

    The Council passed the Bill on 18 November 2009. [Hansard "page 152"]
    17.11.09 CI The Administration briefed the Panel on the its refined proposals to strengthen copyright protection in the digital environment, taking into account the views that had been received regarding its preliminary proposals, and the latest developments in overseas jurisdictions. [Paper] [Background brief] [Follow-up paper]
    19.1.10 CI The Panel met with the Administration and received deputations' views on copyright protection in the digital environment. [Paper] [Background brief]


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