ENG-2004 — Page 171

Commerce and Industry 137

October. Some 42 Hong Kong residents took part in that examination and three candidates passed. From January 1, 2005, Hong Kong residents will be able to provide patent agency service in the Mainland subject to meeting the stated qualifications.

Registered Designs

The Registered Designs Ordinance enables designs to be registered independently in the HKSAR. The commencement of the Registered Designs (Amendment) Rules 2004 on May 7, 2004 enabled e-filing and e-publication for designs. The fees for design registration services, which are charged at full-cost recovery basis, have been reduced by 51 per cent. In 2004, the Designs Registry received 3 026 applications for registration of 4 609 designs, comprising 2 458 single-design applications and 568 multiple-design applications. During the period, 4 213 designs were registered.

With online search of designs, owners of registered designs are able to show proof of ownership at the venue of exhibitions worldwide. This facility has encouraged design

design owners to register their designs for protection from infringements.

Copyright

The Copyright Ordinance provides protection for literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works, typographical arrangements of published editions, sound recordings, films, broadcasts, cable programmes, and performers' performances irrespective of the domicile of the copyright owners. In line with international standards, there is no requirement to register copyright.

The Copyright (Amendment) Ordinance 2004, effective on September 1, introduced the 'copyshop offence' to facilitate enforcement and prosecution against illicit reproduction of books, magazines or periodicals by copyshops for the purpose of or in the course of their business.

In addition, to further improve Hong Kong's legislative regime for protecting copyright, a consultation document on the review of certain provisions of the Copyright Ordinance was released in December. The consultation document sets out the main issues related to end-user liability, copyright exemption and a number of other aspects in the Copyright Ordinance that require a review.

Enforcement

The Customs and Excise Department is responsible for enforcing the criminal sanctions for the protection of copyright and trade marks. It investigates reports of copyright infringement and trade mark counterfeiting, and takes action against the manufacture, distribution, sale, import and export of pirated and counterfeit goods. The department also takes action against the possession of infringing copies of computer programmes, movies, television dramas and music recordings for use in business as well as unauthorised possession of video recording equipment in a place of public entertainment used primarily as a cinema, theatre or concert hall.