Piracy in Hong Kong Under ControlThe piracy situation in Hong Kong is firmly under control, Commissioner of Hong Kong Customs and Excise, John Tsang Chun-wah, said on Friday.Hong Kong is "wholly committed to protecting intellectual property rights," he said, noting that Hong Kong Customs spent over 150 million HK dollars (US$19.23 million) last year in fighting piracy. As a result, he said, pirated discs in circulation have reduced by over 98 percent, from a height of five million in circulation a year ago to fewer than 100,000 currently. After the formation of the Customs Special Task Force which was set up to combat copyright piracy in June last year, the official said, the box-office sales for most cinema-operators have improved this year, with some of them having jumped by some 20 percent in the first half of this year. "The success of Hong Kong in the control of piracy has brought acclaims from the President and Chief Operating Officer of the Motion Picture Association, Mr. William Baker, as well as the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the International Federation of the Photographic Industry, Mr. Jason Berman, who presented the Hong Kong Customs and Excise Department with plaques of recognition," Tsang said. The US Trade Representative had also given recognition to Hong Kong for its work in the control of piracy in its testimony before the House International Relations Sub-committee on International Economic Policy on Trade in July this year, he said. |
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