Intellectual Property
Choosing a subtopic
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Copyright
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General matters
- 1. How do I obtain copyright?
- 2. How long does copyright last?
- 3. What is a copyright notice? If I am the copyright owner, is it necessary to have a copyright notice on my work?
- 4. How do I find out who owns the copyright in a particular work?
- 5. How do I obtain permission to use a copyright work?
- 6. Are there any works that I can use freely without having to obtain permission in respect of copyright?
- 7. Further to question 6, are government publications in the public domain?
- 8. Is my copyright valid in other countries?
- 9. Is the copyright of a foreigner valid in Hong Kong?
- 10. Can a copyright owner assign the copyright of his work to another person?
- 11. How is an assignment of copyright different from a licence of copyright?
- 12. What are moral rights?
- 13. Do performers enjoy copyright protection for their performances?
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Ownership of copyright
- 14. Who owns the copyright in a work? Would different categories of work result in different ownership of copyright?
- 15. A free-lance programmer has written a program to keep track of my company's inventory. I have paid him in full but we have never discussed the ownership of the program. Am I the copyright owner of the program? If not, do I have any rights in the program?
- 16. I have written a book with two other co-authors. The book consists of 12 chapters and each of us is the sole author of 4 chapters. How is the copyright in this book shared between us?
- 17. I have written a book with two other co-authors. None of us is the sole author of any part, as we all contributed to the writing and revising of each chapter. How is the copyright in the book shared between us?
- 18. What happens to the copyright in a work when the company that owned it no longer exists or has been taken over?
- 19. Is owning the NFT of copyrighted content equivalent to owning the copyright itself?
- 20. Can I use work I created in the course of my previous employment in my new business?
- 21. Can someone retain copyright of their work even if they no longer physically possess the originals of their work?
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Copyright and information technology
- 22. Does the same copyright law apply to electronic materials as printed materials?
- 23. What is meant by a "multimedia work"? Is there anything special about the copyright in such a work?
- 24. Are website postings and email messages protected by copyright? What about domain names on the Internet?
- 25. I have downloaded images from a website situated in the United States. Which country's law would be used to determine whether or not I have infringed a copyright – US law or Hong Kong law?
- 26. Is it legal to link to a webpage (insert a hyperlink on one webpage that links to another webpage) without obtaining its owner’s consent?
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General matters
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Infringement of copyright and permitted acts (exceptions to copyright infringement)
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A. Will a person infringe the copyright in a work under these scenarios?
- 1. Some of the contents of a book I have borrowed are out of copyright (the copyright period has expired). If I photocopy only the pages containing those contents, will I still infringe the copyright in the book?
- 2. I am a shop owner and have bought a lawful copy of a musical CD. Will I infringe the copyright if I play the CD in my shop?
- 3. I have bought a lawful copy of a movie on a DVD. Will I infringe the copyright if I show the movie in a fund-raising event for charitable purposes?
- 4. I have bought a lawful copy of a CD containing a computer game. Will I be liable for copyright infringement if I lend the CD to my friend for him to play the game on his computer?
- 5. A student has made photocopies of a book and distributed them to all of his classmates. Has he infringed copyright? What about his classmates?
- 6. I have bought a pirate VCD on the street, am I liable for copyright infringement?
- 7. Do I infringe copyright just by reading articles or listening to music found on the Internet?
- 8. Are parallel imports (or grey-market goods) legal under the Copyright Ordinance?
- 9. In writing a report, I have extracted various passages, tables and pictures from the Internet and included them in the report. Have I infringed any copyrights?
- 10. My company has a practice of keeping photocopies of newspaper articles about the company and its competitors in an archive accessible to its staff. Is my company liable for copyright infringement?
- 11. If I place hit songs on my website for others to download, but purely for sampling purposes, will I infringe the copyrights on those songs? What if I place only a part of each song on the website?
- 12. I have bought a lawful copy of a CD containing a computer program. Do I infringe the copyright by making a backup copy of the CD? What about installing the program on more than one computer (e.g. on my home computer and office computer)?
- 13. I have bought a lawful copy of a CD containing a computer program. Do I infringe copyright by reselling the CD through an auction on the Internet?
- 14. Is it illegal to use the BitTorrent (BT) technology in Hong Kong?
- 15. If my acts (e.g. distributing a copyrighted work without permission) are not done for commercial purposes, will I be immune from criminal prosecution for copyright infringement?
- 16. What will be the consequence if a company is found criminally liable for copyright infringement?
- 17. I have bought a lawful copy of a musical CD. Will I infringe the copyright if I convert it into MP3 format so that I can play it on a MP3 player?
- 18. Can I use a celebrity’s name or image without their consent?
- 19. What offences does the owner of a party room commit when they provide a karaoke machine that contains infringing copies of songs for customers to sing?
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B. Are there any "permitted acts" which may be exempt from the infringement of copyright?
- 1. Is it true that copyright law allows me to photocopy, for example, not more than 10% of a book?
- 2. I am a medical doctor and have my own clinic. Can I play movie DVDs in my clinic to entertain my patients while they are waiting?
- 3. I work night shifts and cannot watch my favourite television programmes when they are shown. Can I record them so that I can watch them when I am off from work?
- 4. I have 20 computers in my company and need to be cost-conscious when purchasing software. Can I install cheaper yet lawful copies of software purchased from other countries? Will it make any difference if there is an exclusive dealer of the software in
- 5. Will I infringe any copyright if I take photographs of buildings in Hong Kong?
- 6. I am a teacher and have found a good article in a magazine. Can I make photocopies of the article and distribute them to my students for class discussion?
- 7. I am a teacher and like to collect reading materials for my students. If I scan those materials and put them on my website for my students to download, will I infringe copyright? What if I put them on the school's Intranet accessible only to my student
- 8. Can a teacher copy examination questions found on the Internet and include them in his own examination paper for his students?
- 9. Can schools show movies without obtaining permission from the copyright owners? What about recording radio or television programmes?
- 10. My school plans to have an internal competition in which students will perform various dramas based on short novels written by local writers. Can my school do so without obtaining permission from the copyright owners?
- 11. Can contractual terms override the statutory exemptions to copyright infringement?
- C. What to do when faced with groundless threats of proceedings?
- D. “Safe Harbour” provisions limiting the liability of online service providers
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A. Will a person infringe the copyright in a work under these scenarios?
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Patents
- 1. What type of things (inventions) can be protected by a patent?
- 2. What are not regarded as patentable inventions?
- 3. What is the difference between discovery and inventions?
- 4. Can I patent my newly developed mobile phone app?
- 5. What should I note before making an application for a patent? What is the registration procedure?
- 6. Who actually owns the patent rights for a product or process? What are the possible penalties for infringers (persons who have infringed the patent right of others)?
- 7. What is the significance of licensing a patent?
- 8. What are considered acts of infringement?
- 9. What are some excepted acts which do not constitute acts of infringement?
- 10. Remedies for groundless threats
- 11. How and on what grounds can I challenge a patent?
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Trade Marks
- 1. To be more specific, what things may constitute a trade mark?
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2. What things should I know before making an application for registering a trade mark? What is the registration procedure?
- 1. What are some examples of trade marks that are “descriptive of the goods or services”?
- 2. What are trade mark classes and why are they so important?
- 3. How can I check if someone else has already registered or applied to register the same or similar trade mark?
- 4. What is the application process for registering a trademark?
- 5. On what grounds may the Trade Mark Registry object or a third party oppose my trademark application?
- 6. What is the procedure for a third party to oppose a trademark application?
- 3. How long does the legal protection of a trade mark last under the Trade Marks Ordinance?
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4. Infringement
- 1. What do the symbols ® and ™ symbols mean?
- 2. What constitutes infringement?
- 3. What defences are available to an alleged infringer?
- 4. What are the remedies for infringement?
- 5. What constitutes a groundless threat and what actions can be taken if one receives such a threat?
- 6. Is it a criminal offence to infringe trade marks?
- 7. Does registration of a company confer any trademark rights? Can I set up a company with names similar to a registered trademark?
- 8. Are parallel imports (or grey-market goods) legal under the Trade Marks Ordinance?
- 9. If I am selling goods of a brand, can I include the brand’s trade mark in my advertising materials?
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Registered Designs
- 1. What should I know if want to register a design with the Intellectual Property Department? What is the period of legal protection for a registered design under the Registered Designs Ordinance?
- 2. After I have completed the prescribed registration procedure, what protection can I enjoy under the Registered Designs Ordinance? What are the possible penalties for an infringement?
- Passing Off (misleading business reputation/goodwill)
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