IP Rights Awareness Up In Hong Kong, Survey Reveals

by Mary Swire, for LawAndTax-News.com, Hong Kong

16 January 2004

A study recently undertaken by the Hong Kong government's Intellectual Property Department has revealed that the territory's population is becoming increasingly aware of the importance of intellectual property protections.

The fifth annual poll conducted by the the department found that more than half of those questioned felt that safeguards are necessary in order to "protect the interests of inventors and encourage creativity".

When questioned on ways of strengthening IP protection, 26.9% of respondents suggested that raising awareness and strengthening education was the way forward, whilst 25.8% opted for full-scale enforcement measures against the sale of counterfeit goods.

However, despite these positive results, 20.3% of those polled revealed that they would sometimes or often buy pirated products, and 30.2% admitted that they would occasionally buy such goods.

Commenting on the survey results, director of intellectual property at the IP Department, Stephen Selby observed that:

"While it is comforting to see a growing respect for intellectual property rights, we still need to do more to get people to turn their good intentions into actions." He added:

"Although respondents are showing more understanding of the value of intellectual property, there are still too many people who can't resist buying and using pirated and counterfeit goods. We shall need to strengthen our education efforts."

The IP director went on to reveal that the department has budgeted around HK$7 million for public education campaigns in the coming year.

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