HONG KONG Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Edward Yau Tang-wah will introduce the Copyright Amendment Bill into the Legislative Council for first and second readings on June 8, the government announced on Friday.
In a statement issued on Friday, a spokesman for the Commerce and Economic Development BureauCommerce and Economic Development Bureau said that the intellectual property regime has been very important to Hong Kong as an international trade center.
The strategy to develop the city into a regional IP trading center under the National 14th Five-Year Plan is a major part of the Hong Kong copyright regime and the strengthening of copyright protection in the digital environment.
The statement states that Hong Kong's IP regime must keep abreast with the times and international norms, as well as meet its social and economic needs.
The bill was due to be gazetted on Friday, the government said. In light of technological developments and the introduction of criminal sanctions against infringements relating to the new communication right, the legislative proposals include introducing an exclusive technology-neutral communication right for copyright owners.
The bill aims to revise and expand the scope of copyright exceptions to allow use of copyright works in certain common internet activities.
It proposes to introduce safe harbor provisions to give online service providers incentives to cooperate with copyright owners in combatting online piracy and to provide reasonable protection for their acts.
The legislative proposal includes the introduction of two additional statutory factors for the court to consider when assessing whether to award additional damages to copyright owners in civil cases involving copyright infringements.
In November of this year, the government conducted a three-month public consultation on updating the city's copyright regime.
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According to the spokesman, the majority of the respondents agreed that there is an imminent need for Hong Kong to update the copyright regime and support the government's key legislative proposals.
The bureau will continue to engage stakeholders and solicit the support of LegCo during the legislative amendment exercise to secure passage of the bill as soon as possible, the spokesman said.