TNAG-0265-FCO40-301-Legislation-for-copyright-in-Hong-Kong-1970 — Page 37

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NOTHING TO BE WRITTEN IN THIS MARGIN

Registry No.

SECURITY CLASSIFICATION

Top Secret.

Secret.

Confidential.

Restricted.

Unclassified.

PRIVACY MARKING

In Confidence

CONFIDENTIAL

DRAFT

Submission

Type 1 +

To:-

From

Telephone No. & Ext.

Department

HONG KONG

COPYRIGHT LEGISLATION WITH PARTICULAR REFERENCE TO SOUND AND TELEVISION BROADCAST AND RELAY SERVICES IN THE COLONY

PROBLEM

The Hong Kong Government is proposing that the

UK Copyright Act of 1956 should be applied, with

appropriate modification, to Hong Kong and that the

Colony's own copyright legislation should be amended

to bring it up to date and to supplement the UK Act.

This is in itself most desirable.

2. There is in Hong Kong a broadcasting company,

Rediffusion (Hong Kong) Limited, which possesses

certain exclusive television relay rights under a

licence granted to it in 1957. The Hong Kong

Government proposes substantially to diminish

those rights:-

(1) by conferring, in the proposed legislation

(as modified), copyright in television

broadcasts and to make it an infringement

of such copyright to relay television

broadcasts without the permission of the

originating broadcast organisation;

(2) by revoking the Company's existing licence

and replacing it with a new licence, which

will diminish the Company's exclusive right

to set up and operate certain types of