The Customs and Excise Department today (March 19) entered into the first-ever Co-operative Arrangement with the National Copyright Administration of the People's Republic of China (NCAC) to strengthen the protection of on-line copyright.
Representing Hong Kong Customs to sign the Co-operative Arrangement was the Assistant Commissioner, Mr Tam Yiu-keung.
The NCAC was represented by the Director General of the Copyright Division, Mr Wang Ziqiang, who headed a six-member delegation to attend the signing ceremony in Hong Kong.
In view of the speedy development of the Internet and to protect on-line copyright, Hong Kong Customs and the NCAC regard law enforcement concerning on-line copyright protection as a major area of mutual co-operation. In this regard, the Mainland copyright authorities and Hong Kong Customs signed the first official Co-operative Arrangement to fight on-line copyright piracy.
Under the Arrangement, both parties agree to co-operate in copyright protection within the ambit of their respective laws, powers and resources, and to provide administrative assistance to each other to protect the interests of copyright owners in the on-line environment.
Both parties also agreed to meet regularly to discuss and exchange ideas on matters relating to the execution of the Arrangement when the circumstances warrant. The Arrangement will further strengthen co-operation in the fight against on-line piracy, laying down a concrete co-operative foundation for future development.
Mr Tam also took this opportunity to thank the NCAC for the support and assistance rendered to Hong Kong Customs in on-line piracy investigations.
He said: "Some of the on-line piracy cases foiled by Hong Kong Customs involved websites on the Mainland. Last week, Hong Kong Customs arrested two persons in two Internet piracy cases involving the uploading and distribution of infringing songs on the Internet with some of them originating from Mainland websites.
"The successful detection of the cases highlighted the importance of close co-operation between the two parties in the fight against on-line piracy," he added.
During their stay in Hong Kong, the NCAC delegation also visited the Intellectual Property Investigation Bureau of Hong Kong Customs, the Intellectual Property Department, and met representatives of the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (Hong Kong Group), the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry Asian Regional Office, the Hong Kong, Kowloon and New Territories Motion Picture Industry Association and the Hong Kong Comics & Animation Federation to understand their work in protecting copyright.
Ends/Friday, March 19, 2010
