TRADE AND INDUSTRY
tier of higher penalties against repeat offenders. The new maximum penalties for the possession of infringing copies of copyright works for trade and business are a fine of $25,000 per copy and two year's imprisonment. The penalties for possession of a plate for manufacturing infringing copies of copyright works are a fine of $250,000 and four-year imprisonment. In the case of a subsequent conviction the penalties are doubled. Moreover, the management of a body corporate or a partnership engaged in copyright piracy is now also liable to the same new penalties. The purpose is to deter criminal copyright infringement on a commercial scale.
Layout-Design (Topography) of Integrated Circuits
The Layout-Design (Topography) of Integrated Circuits Ordinance enacted in March 1994 automatically protects original layout-designs (topographies) of integrated circuits of qualified persons. There is no need to register or deposit the layout-design (topography) in Hong Kong.
Consumer Council
Established in 1974, the Consumer Council is a statutory body charged with the responsibility for protecting and promoting the interests of consumers of goods, services and immovable property. The council's chairman, vice-chairman and 20 other members are all appointed by the Governor from a wide cross-section of the community. The council forms committees and working groups to deal with specific tasks in the field of consumer protection.
The council's office is headed by the chief executive with a staff of 113. It is divided into seven functional divisions: complaints and advice, information and publication, research and testing, survey, trade practices, legal affairs and administration. The Trade Practices and Legal Affairs Divisions are new. The former undertakes important competition research and studies to promote fair trade practices, while the latter advises the council on legal matters affecting consumer interests and helps administer the Consumer Legal Action Fund.
The Consumer Legal Action Fund was set up in November 1994 with a capital grant of $10 million from the government. It is a trust set up to give greater consumer access to legal remedies by providing financial support and legal assistance, with particular emphasis upon groups of consumers with similar complaints on cases involving significant public interest and injustice. The council is the trustee of the fund, and is advised by a management committee on the eligibility and merits of the cases seeking assistance. Where appropriate, the fund helps consumers to pursue their rights through court action or other ways. One case was resolved fairly promptly, to the satisfaction of a group of assisted consumers, without the need to initiate court action. The threat of legal action by the fund apparently provided the necessary deterrent.
The council is engaged in a wide spectrum of activities promoting consumer rights. These include developing new consumer protection initiatives, conducting studies on the state of competition and trade practices of various business sectors, studying and responding to consultation papers and reports on consumer-related issues, mediating in consumer disputes, conducting product testing and surveys, dissemina- ting information and advice, and organising consumer education activities.
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