by James Kwong
Following on previous posts on this issue (here and here), it is official: With effect from 1 May 2023, some major amendments to Hong Kong’s copyright legislation have come into effect.
By way of recap, the most salient features of the reform are the following.
1. Technology-neutral communication to the public right
The legislation as amended provides a technology-neutral exclusive right for copyright owners to communicate their works to the public through any mode of electronic transmission. This includes, for example, streaming of copyright music, movies, or dramatic works to the public for listening or watching on demand of live, and uploading of a copyright work to a website for access by the public. Can you find the Kat? (Here for more Hong Kong shop Kats)
Under the previous regime, the legislation only gave copyright owners certain exclusive rights, including the right to make a copyright work available to the public on the Internet, to broadcast a work, or to include a work in a cable programme service.
To tie in with the introduction of a technology-neutral communication right, the legislation as amended also introduces criminal sanctions against those who make for-profit unauthorized communications of copyright works to the public, or to an extent which will cause prejudice to the copyright owners. Read more