Customs clamped down on Copyright Infringement and Corporate Piracy by Internet Café

Date: 28/10/2008

In an action yesterday (October 28), Hong Kong Customs detected a case of copyright infringement and corporate piracy in an upstairs Internet café.

Acting on information from copyright owners about an Internet café suspected to have uploaded pirated movies and television dramas onto computers inside the café for viewing by customers, Customs officers carried out thorough investigation into the case.

Yesterday Customs officers took action and raided an upstairs Internet café operating round the clock in North Point. The Internet café was found to have stored a large number of pirated songs, movies and television dramas in the server of the café and then uploaded them via intranet to the computers inside the café for listening, viewing and downloading by customers. The pirated songs, movies and television dramas involved were of various kinds, including local, foreign, Japanese and Korean ones.

During the operation, a total of 93 computers and seven servers amounting to around $531,700 were seized by the Customs. Moreover, pirated operating system software was found installed in the computers seized.

One male and two females, aged 23 to 35, including one male company director and two female cashiers, were arrested by the Customs. They are on bail pending further investigations.

Under the Copyright Ordinance, a person commits a criminal offence if he knowingly possesses an infringing copy in the course of business irrespective of whether the business involves in any transaction of the infringing copy or not. The maximum penalty is a fine of $50,000 per infringing copy and imprisonment for four years.

The Customs reminded directors in corporations and partners that new provisions of the Copyright (Amendment) Ordinance 2007 concerning the criminal liability of directors and partners in relation to 嚙踝蕭possession of infringing copies嚙踝蕭 came into effect on July 11. Under the new provisions, where an organisation has committed an offence relating to possession of infringing copies of computer programmes, movies, television dramas or musical (sound or visual) recordings for use in business, its directors and partners may also be held criminally liable.

Ends/Wednesday, October 29, 2008

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