CONFIDENTIAL
2
Order had been revoked (your Telno 259 of 29.1.90) but
that the Copyright (Hong Kong) Orders 1972 and 1979
could be amended so as to extend to Hong Kong Section 32
of the Copyright Act 1956 ("the 1956 Act"). This would
enable the Governor to make Orders to extend reciprocal
copyright protection to foreign countries or territories
whether in compliance with Hong Kong's obligations under
international conventions or bilateral arrangements.
3.
The
Copyright
(Hong Kong)
(Amendment) Order
was nade on 14 March 1990 ("the 1990 Order"). In
pursuance of powers contained in that Order, the
Governor made the Copyright (Taiwan) Order on 7 June
1990.
We are also in the process of preparing another
Order to extend copyright protection to countries which
since 1990 have joined international copyright conventions applicable to Hong Kong.
4.
Present issue.
The latest legal advice
outlined in your
FUR reverses previous legal advice
given by the FCO and DTI, with which our own legal
advisers agree. It frustrates the legislative intention
of the 1990 Order and gives rise to serious implications
for HKG in respect of any action it has undertaken in
pursuance of the 1990 Order. Before we take a view on
the issue and to enable us to do a damage assessment, we
need to see the basis of your fresh advice.
5.
In
considering options for providing copyright
television, we have
protection to subscription cable
also considered in details the whole question of
of amendments to the 1956 Act to Hong Kong by
In that context we have also
extension
Order in
Council.
revisited the scope and effect of the Copyright (Hong
Kong) Order 1972, as set out below.
16. HKG's
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.