Live | The Bureau of Commerce and Economic Affairs re-introduces the Consultation Draft of the Copyright Amendment Regulations

During the announcement of the Policy Paper in the middle of last month, the Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Yau Tenghua, has proposed to re-launch the Copyright Amendment Ordinance. The Secretary will hold a press conference for a public consultation on the update of Hong Kong's copyright system at 3 o'clock this afternoon.

The Director of the Intellectual Property Department Huang Fulai and the Acting Assistant Director (Copyright) of the Intellectual Property Department Xu Lishan will also attend the press conference.

Yau Tenghua said that he would use the discussions in the Legislative Council in 2014 as the starting point for consultation, hoping to draw on the opinions of the industry and all walks of life, and then submit it to the Legislative Council.

After the introduction of the 2014 Copyright Amendment Regulations, it aroused social opposition. Finally, after three months of Rab, a member of the Pan-Democratic Legislative Council at the time, finally passed the adjournment pending resolution after the establishment of the establishment, and whether it will be dealt with in the coming Legislative Council.

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Qiu mentioned earlier that Hong Kong’s "Copyright Ordinance" is more than ten years behind, and the authorities must do a "guarantee" work. The content will be based on the 2014 draft version. It is not ruled out that details will be added in accordance with the Hong Kong National Security Law, but reference should be made. The current actual development, consult with people from all walks of life.

The Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Yau Tenghua, said today that although the Copyright (Amendment) Bill 2014 was supported by the Bills Committee of the Legislative Council, the deliberation process was forced to suspend due to some legislators.

Hong Kong’s copyright system lags behind the international development by more than ten years. I think it’s a pity that the version at that time is the results and broad consensus reached by the government, the Legislative Council, copyright owners, online service providers, and copyright users after years of discussion. Balance the rights and interests of different stakeholders.

The relevant legislative proposals cover five areas. First, grant copyright owners a technology-neutral exclusive communication right to ensure that their works will be protected when they are disseminated to the public in any electronic transmission mode; cooperate with the introduction of the above exclusive communication rights to establish relevant infringements In addition, two statutory factors have been added for the court to consider when deciding whether to award additional damages to the copyright owner in a civil case involving infringement. One is the unreasonable behavior of the infringer after learning of the infringement. The second is the possibility that infringing copies will be widely circulated due to the infringement, so as to strengthen the protection of copyright owners in the digital environment;

In addition, the "safe harbor" provisions have been added to stipulate that online service providers shall, if they meet certain conditions, including taking reasonable measures to restrict or over-stop the relevant activities after being notified of infringing activities on their service platforms, they only need to provide services to users. Infringements committed on the platform bear limited legal liabilities to encourage online service providers and copyright owners to cooperate in combating online piracy and provide reasonable actions for them.

He also pointed out that in the past, the government's promotion of amendments was called the "Twenty-three Internet Articles." Regarding voices worried that the amendments would hinder secondary creation, Qiu Tenghua pointed out that the draft would exempt works such as reasonable parody and satire under reasonable circumstances. ; Emphasize that the law must not only protect the rights and interests of copyright holders, but also respect the freedom of expression and creation.

The draft "Copyright Amendment Bill" was introduced in 2011 and 2014. The content included restrictions on the rebroadcast of infringing works. Even if the second creation or cover works were not exempted, it caused concern that it would affect the freedom of speech and was shelved after opposition.

The regulations need to be updated. As technology changes and the international infringement industry is hot, it is believed that the existing regulations are not sufficient to protect copyright.

Qiu Tenghua said that the consultation on copyright amendments will be restarted. It does not rule out that the copyright amendment regulations will be inserted in details in response to the National Security Act. The consultation will be held next month as soon as possible. Failed to keep up with the tasks given by the state