July 2004
Hong Kong customs join ground floor war on piracy.
Customs officials announced their intention to apply for a restraint order against a group of alleged counterfeiters of optical discs, under a law relating to proceeds of crime.
The group's assets comprising cash, property and stocks worth close to HK $20 million could be frozen via Customs and Excise's use of the Organised and Serious Crimes Ordinance (OSCO). The OSCO procedure was amended in 2000 to extend its application to certain IP rights offences and can be used when the value exceeds HK $100 000.
The Business Software Alliance's (BSA) Global Software Piracy study revealed a huge presence of software piracy in Hong Kong where it found that 52% of software installed on its computers in 2003 was pirated.
So far, no case has proved suitable for application of the OSCO procedure until now. The investigation, which involved over 150 customs officials, raided storage sites, eight shops and a disc copying establishment. Out of all the people arrested, seven were charged with offences under the OSCO.
Hong Kong has a long road ahead in view of piracy rates evidenced in other developed economies under the BSA study.
BRIFFA Comment:
It is positive to see government authorities actively using IP rights belonging to companies and individuals to implement laws. Until recently it has been up to the rights owners to enforce their patents, trade marks etc themselves which can be a long an expensive business. The increasing inclination of foreign customs authorities to assist in enforcement demonstrates their growing commitment to actively cracking down on infringement and counterfeiting.