ENG-2007 — Page 164

120 Commerce and Industry

A close working relationship with the intellectual property rights industry contributes to the effective enforcement against infringement of copyright and trade marks. The department has in collaboration with the industry established the Intellectual Property Rights Protection Alliance and successfully launched various campaigns such as the Fast Action Scheme and the Youth Ambassador Against Internet Piracy Scheme with encouraging results.

The Intellectual Property Rights Enforcement Museum was set up in October 2007 to showcase the department's endeavours and achievement in intellectual property rights protection and provide a scenario-based training venue for frontline investigators. Schools are also invited to visit the museum in a bid to promote awareness of the importance of intellectual property rights among youngsters.

Public Education

In 2007, the Intellectual Property Department continued to roll out territory-wide campaigns such as the 'No Fake' and ' Pledge' campaigns, and produced Announcements in the Public Interest to promote awareness of the importance of intellectual property rights. Its primary and secondary school visits programme promoting respect for intellectual property rights was run for the 11th year in 2007, covering 84 schools and 28 453 students.

To strengthen intellectual property compliance among the business community, the Intellectual Property Department, Business Software Alliance and other associations launched the Software Asset Management (SAM) Consultancy Programme in October. Under this programme, the participating organisations will be offered free SAM consultancy service and training so as to assist them to implement SAM effectively.

Cooperation with Mainland Counterparts

The Intellectual Property Department continued to work closely with its Mainland counterparts in promoting protection of intellectual property rights at various levels. The department organised the 'Mainland, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and Macao Special Administrative Region Intellectual Property Symposium 2007' in collaboration with the State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) and the Macao Economic Services. The department also assisted SIPO in facilitating Hong Kong residents to take the National Qualification Examination for Patent Agents 2007. At the regional level, a programme for civil servants was arranged for further exchange of experience and information on intellectual property protection under the Pan-Pearl River Delta Intellectual Property Cooperation framework. As for cooperation under the Guangdong/Hong Kong Expert Group on the Protection of Intellectual Property Rights, a seminar on 'Intellectual Property and Small and Medium Enterprises Development' was held in Guangdong province to encourage SMEs to manage properly their intellectual property rights. To further strengthen cooperation between Guangdong and Hong Kong, the Guangdong/Hong Kong Expert Group signed the '2007-2008 Agreement on Guangdong/Hong Kong Cooperation in the Protection of Intellectual Property Rights'. The agreed cooperation items include continued efforts to organise seminars on intellectual property protection and management, exchange