“Promote Creativity, Respect Intellectual Property Right” Film Show

Date: 27/04/2012

RTHK broadcasting on 27th April 2012, 1520 hours : The Hong Kong Observatory launched the amber rainstorm warning signal.

RTHK broadcasting on 27th April 2012, 1602 hours : Thunderstorm warning signal will be extended to 18:30, with squally thunderstorm later.

RTHK broadcasting on 27th April 2012, 1643 hours : Due to unstable weather, many flights cancelled or delayed. Reported by the Airport Authority Hong Kong, 64 arrival planes delayed, 6 cancelled; 48 departure planes delayed, 3 cancelled and 13 landed in other places…

Meanwhile, a special event name “Promote Creativity, Respect Intellectual Property Right” Film Show would be held in the Customs Headquarter Building in the evening. Jointly organized by the Hong Kong Customs, Intellectual Property Department and IPRPA, the activities of the event included screening of 6 short films, a panel discussion with YAS members and screening of a short film produced by the students of the School of Design of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. The event was supported by over 100 members from YAS, IPRPA and the “I Pledge” campaign.

Bad weather suddenly hit the town a few hours before the event, with the amber rainstorm came first and then thunderstorm later. The event organizer started to worry about the number of attendees of the show.

Despite the bad weather condition, people gradually turned up at the scene under the stormy rain. Soon, about 100 people arrived under the heavy rain, although still many on their way. Finally all guests arrived; in total there were more than 130 participants.

Honorably, we had the presence of Deputy Commissioner of Customs & Excise, Mr. Luke Au Yeung, and Deputy Director of Intellectual Property, Ms. Ada Leung. Mr. Luke Au Yeung and Ms. Ada Leung gave their welcome speeches before the screening of short films. In a humorous way, Mr. Luke Au Yeung explored the importance of creativity to movies, our daily life and the protection of Intellectual Property Rights. He said, “Creativity is ones ability to ‘think outside the box’, think beyond the traditional boundary as well as to think in multi-facet ways.” “Apple brand products such as iPad, iPhone are the fruits of creativity and model of success in this respect.”

Filmmakers of the 6 pieces of work from “HK Heart” explored a variety of social phenomena. Three of the 6 films were awarded winners and were recommended to compete in the Macau International Movie Festival 2011. The other 3 films were works of professional directors. All 6 films were showed to the public in UA Cinema at Cityplaza on 26 November 2011.

After showing the 6 films from “HK Heart”, a discussion panel with YAS members participated in the Study Tours to Japan in 2010 and Guangzhou in 2011 was arranged. Acting as modulator, Executive Director & General Manager of IFACT-GC, Mr. Sam Ho, discussed with the YAS members about their thoughts toward the short films as well as ideas about the protection of Intellectual Property Rights.

Followed by the group discussion, a short film produced by the students of the School of Design of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, named “Damages of a Different Kind” was displayed. It explored how online infringement of copyright had undermined the creative industry, in particularly to movie industry. After the screening, the students of PolyU shared with the audiences their filming experiences in producing the movie.

The film show successfully concluded at 1930 hours with applause.

Within expectation, the film show had not been delayed or rescheduled due to the bad weather. In fact, it was accomplished with great success. Creative and inspiring short films, proactive communication among YAS members and the support of over 100 audiences, have altogether contributed to the remarkable success of this event. Most importantly, our audiences have attended the show, despite the poor weather, to advocate the theme “Promote Creativity, Respect Intellectual Property Right”. This spirit of fulfilling commitment is essential to Hong Kong Customs & Excise, too.

Being a law enforcement agency, the Hong Kong Customs highly value fulfilling our commitment, especially in the law enforcement respect. We will continue to strive for excellence in offering professional services and enhance our enforcement effectiveness in meeting future challenges.

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