TRADE AND INDUSTRY
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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 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 114. It is divided into seven functional divisions: administration, complaints and advice, information. and publication, legal affairs, research and testing, survey and trade practices. The council is engaged in a wide spectrum of activities ranging from developing new consumer protection initiatives to conducting studies on the state of competition and trade practices of various business sectors, mediating in consumer disputes to disseminating information and advice and organising consumer education activities, conducting product testing, in-depth studies and surveys to studying and responding to consultation papers and reports on consumer-related issues.
During the year, a key activity of the council was to complete a series of sector- specific competition studies and, based on these findings, to draw up a final report with appropriate recommendations to ensure and promote competition in Hong Kong. Three study reports were released on the sectors of broadcasting in January, telecommunications in March and private residential property in July.
The report on broadcasting, entitled Ensuring Competition in the Dynamic Television Broadcasting Market, made recommendations for a licensing and regulatory regime to promote competition and cater for rapid changes in the television broadcasting sector. The council recommended a regulatory framework based on a conceptual division between carriers and programme or service providers with a streamlined regime. One key feature of the proposed regime was the creation of a new policy branch with integrated responsibilities for broadcasting, tele- communications and information technology to cope with coverage in these fields. The government responded in early July, agreeing to a number of the council's recommendations. It accepted that there was some merit in dealing separately with carriage and content, and pointed out that the two aspects would be regulated separately in the licensing scheme for video-on-demand programme services.
Pointing out that there was already close co-operation between the Broadcasting, Culture and Sport Branch, the Broadcasting Authority and the Office of the Telecommunications Authority, the government felt that there was no present need for a new branch, although it would consider the issue again in the broadcasting review in 1998. Other recommendations accepted by the government included the case for reducing the royalties paid by the two commercial television broadcasting licensees, the removal of restrictions on telecommunications licensees from bidding