The Government published in the Gazette today (February 17) the Copyright (Amendment) Ordinance 2022 (Commencement) Notice (the Commencement Notice). The Copyright (Amendment) Ordinance 2022 (the Amendment Ordinance) will come into operation on May 1.
The Amendment Ordinance updates the Copyright Ordinance (Cap. 528) to strengthen copyright protection in the digital environment, including introducing an exclusive technology-neutral communication right for copyright owners and criminal sanctions against infringements of the concerned new right, a “safe harbour” regime for incentivising online service providers (OSPs) to co-operate with copyright owners in combating online piracy, and several new and expanded copyright exceptions (including allowing the use of copyright works in certain common Internet activities, and facilitating online learning and the operation of libraries, museums and archives) to maintain an appropriate balance between copyright protection and reasonable use of copyright works.
The Commencement Notice will be tabled at the Legislative Council for negative vetting on February 22.
To tie in with the operation of the “safe harbour” regime under the Amendment Ordinance, the Government also gazetted today the code of practice which provides practical guidance of the relevant practices and procedures that OSPs may adopt upon being notified of online piracy on their service platforms in accordance with the “safe harbour” regime under the Amendment Ordinance.
The Government will launch a series of publicity and educational activities to enhance awareness and understanding of the Amendment Ordinance amongst various stakeholders and the general public. These include providing relevant information on the Amendment Ordinance on the website of the Intellectual Property Department (www.ipd.gov.hk), distributing promotional leaflets, conducting briefings targeting different stakeholders and launching Announcements in the Public Interest through electronic media.
Upon commencement of the Amendment Ordinance, the Customs and Excise Department (C&ED) will continue to step up inspections and enforcement in co-operation with copyright owners. Depending on the circumstances and evidence of individual cases, the C&ED will take enforcement actions in accordance with the Copyright Ordinance as amended to further combat online piracy.
The publishing industry is taking a leap forward in digitalisation and intellectualisation, as multimodel reading has been becoming more popular in recent years in particular amid the Covid-19 pandemic. With the support of the Logistics and Supply Chain MultiTech R&D Centre (LSCM) and sponsored by the Create Hong Kong (CreateHK) of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), the Hong Kong Publishing Federation (HKPF) ogranises the “Publishing 3.0 – HK Smart e-Book Hub Scheme” (Publishing 3.0) to assist local publishers speeding up their digital transformation. The launch ceremony of Publishing 3.0 was held today to officially call for entries of local publications with a view to establishing the Hong Kong Smart e-Book Hub.
To promote the widespread application of new technologies amongst local publishers, in particular the use of artificial intelligence (AI), Publishing 3.0 seeks to explore and maximise business opportunities in the new era of local publishing and further develop Hong Kong into a regional copyright hub of e-books and audiobooks.
The launch ceremony of Publishing 3.0 held today (21 July) at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre was officiated by Mr. Kevin YEUNG Yun-hung, Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism, together with representative of the organiser, Dr. Elvin LEE Ka-kui, Chairman of the HKPF; sponsor, Mr. Victor TSANG Chiu-hok, Head of CreateHK; and supporting organisation,Ir. Dr. Alan LAM Hiu-fung, Chairman of the LSCM.
In his remarks, Mr. Kevin YEUNG Yun-hung, expressed his appreciation to the HKPF for organising Publishing 3.0, and thanked the LSCM for developing a platform that would enable AI-empowered smart e-book features for e-publishing for the project.
Dr. Elvin LEE Ka-kui, who is also the Chairman of the organising committee of Publishing 3.0 (organising committee), expected the project to infuse a new driving force into local publishing industry. “We hope to see a diverse, intellectualised, creative publishing scene and help our publishers expand their market in Hong Kong, the Mainland and overseas.”
Publishing 3.0 echoes the HKSAR Government’s initative advocating Art Tech and signifies the perfect integration of technology and creative ideas in local publishing. In addition, Publishing 3.0 will facilitate the set up of a Hong Kong Smart e-Book Hub. Local publishers may use the AI-empowered smart e-book features for e-publishing to convert their Chinese paper publications into Chinese e-books. Furthermore, through the AI system developed by the LSCM, the Chinese e-books can be machine translated into English e-books, while with the application of the Text to Speech technology to be further converted into audiobooks in Cantonese, Putonghua and English.
By encouraging publishers and aspiring writers to utilise this conversion tool to expand their Chinese publications into Chinese and English e-books as well as trilingual audiobooks themselves, Publishing 3.0 can help lower the cost while facilitating Hong Kong publications to explore markets for cultural exchanges.
Mr. POON Chi-wei, Executive Co-Chairman of the organising committee, anticipated that Publishing 3.0 could be a successful case of Hong Kong in combining publishing and technologies. “It will help Hong Kong secure our leading position in Chinese publication and make our creative industries more well-known in the global arena”, he said.
Another Executive Co-Chairman of the organising committee cum Chairman of the Hong Kong Reprographic Rights Licensing Society (HKRRLS), Dr. Sharon Wong Yin-yue, thanked the HKPF for appointing the HKRRLS as the implementation organisation to manage the implementation and promotion of Publishing 3.0. With the formal launch of the project, the HKPF will call for entries of local publications to develop the “HK Smart e-Book Hub”, which will be promoted via various activities locally and internationally. These activities include “Soaring Creativity – Hong Kong Pavilion”* in Mainland and overseas bookfairs, announcement on World Book Day 2023 of the e-Book Hub’s launch, official launch with seminarand exhibition of the e-Book Hub at Hong Kong Book Fair 2023, as well as sharing sessions to be held in a number of large-scale events, etc.More details about Publishing 3.0 will be uploaded to its official website in due course. For more information, please contact the HKRRLS by telephone at 2516 6268 or email: info@hkrrls.org.hk
*“Soaring Creativity – Hong Kong Pavilion” is sponsored by CreateHK of the HKSAR Government.
About Hong Kong Publishing Federation
Hong Kong Publishing Federation founded in 1994. It is the most representative trade organisation of the publishing industry in Hong Kong. Permanent Directors of Federation are Hong Kong Book and Stationery Industry Association Company Limited, The Hong Kong Association of Professional Education Publishing Limited, Educational Booksellers’ Association Limited, Hong Kong Book & Magazine Trade Association Limited, The Hong Kong Publishing Professionals Society Limited and Sino Unite Publishing (Holdings) Limited.
The Hong Kong Publishing Federation aims to promote the development of Hong Kong’s creative publishing industry, strengthen industry cohesion, protect industry interests, and foster industry cooperation with its counterparts on the Mainland, Taiwan, Macau and overseas. Hong Kong Publishing Federation is the organiser of the “Publishing 3.0 – HK Smart e-Book Hub” Scheme.
About Hong Kong Reprographic Rights Licensing Society (HKRRLS)
Hong Kong Reprographic Rights Licensing Society was established in 1995 by Hong Kong authors and publishers. It is one of the six licensing bodies registered with the Copyright Licensing Bodies Registry in Hong Kong, granting licences to the public, including but not limited to primary and secondary schools, tertiary institutions, various government departments, public institutions, commercial organisations, associations, libraries, photocopying shops, to use the copyrighted works of its represented authors and publishers. It represents millions of publications published in Hong Kong and overseas, via its affiliation with the International Federation of Reproduction Rights Organisations. HKRRLS aims to protect the intellectual property rights of its represented authors and publishers and to raise public awareness of copyright and collective management organisations. The “Publishing 3.0 – HK Smart e-Book Hub” Scheme is managed by Hong Kong Reprographic Rights Licensing Society.
About CreateHK
Create Hong Kong (CreateHK) is a dedicated office set up by the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) in June 2009 to spearhead the development of creative industries in Hong Kong. From 1 July 2022 onwards, it is under the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau. Its strategic foci are nurturing talent and facilitating start-ups, exploring markets, and promoting Hong Kong as Asia’s creative capital and fostering a creative atmosphere in the community.CreateHK sponsors the Hong Kong Publishing Federation to organise various projects, including “Publishing 3.0 – HK Smart e-Book Hub Promotion Scheme”, “The Next Writer Publication Funding Scheme” and “Soaring Creativity – Hong Kong Pavilion”, among others, to promote the sustainable development of Hong Kong’s publishing sector.
About the Logistics and Supply Chain MultiTech R&D Centre (LSCM)
Logistics and Supply Chain MultiTech R&D Centre (LSCM) was founded in 2006 with funding from the Innovation and Technology Fund of the HKSAR Government. The Centre is hosted by three leading universities in Hong Kong, namely the University of Hong Kong, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, and the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. It aims to strengthen the local logistics sector and related industries by providing a one-stop resource for applied research and technology transfer, and to reinforce cooperation between the industry and research institutes, to bring about meaningful and significant benefits to the industry and the community. LSCM is the supporting organisation of The “Publishing 3.0 – HK Smart e-Book Hub” Scheme. Please visit LCSM’s website (https://www.lscm.hk/eng/) for more information.
Disclaimer: The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region provides funding support to the project only, and does not otherwise take part in the project. Any opinions, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in these materials/events (or by members of the project team) are those of the project organisers only and do not reflect the views of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau, Create Hong Kong, the CreateSmart Initiative Secretariat or the CreateSmart Initiative Vetting Committee.
The Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons Who Are Blind, Visually Impaired, or Otherwise Print Disabled (Marrakesh Treaty) entered into force in China today (May 5), which also applies to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR).
A spokesman for the Intellectual Property Department said, “The application of the Marrakesh Treaty to the HKSAR formalises the application of the international standards to the HKSAR, enabling persons with a print disability to enjoy better access to accessible copies of copyright works. It demonstrates and reaffirms our commitment to upholding such international standards for the benefit of the print-disabled population.”
The copyright legislation of the HKSAR is fully in compliance with the standards under the Marrakesh Treaty following the commencement of the Copyright (Amendment) Ordinance 2020 on June 26, 2020, which enhanced the copyright exceptions for persons with a print disability.
The Marrakesh Treaty is an international agreement administered by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). Its main goal is to facilitate and enhance access to copyright works in accessible formats for persons with a print disability. As at March 31, 2022, there were 88 contracting parties to the Treaty.
The launch ceremony of Publishing 3.0 held today (21 July) at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre was officiated by Mr. Kevin YEUNG Yun-hung, Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism, together with representative of the organiser, Dr. Elvin LEE Ka-kui, Chairman of the HKPF; sponsor, Mr. Victor TSANG Chiu-hok, Head of CreateHK; and supporting organisation,Ir. Dr. Alan LAM Hiu-fung, Chairman of the LSCM.
