HONG KONG, 14 APRIL 2009 – Copyright awareness is high among local firms, according to the latest survey conducted by the intellectual property (IP) department of the Hong Kong government.
The intellectual property department Hong Kong is a government arm that provides patent, trademark and designs registration services to the public in Hong Kong and China.
Of the 1,001 business respondents, more than 92.1 per cent were aware intellectual property rights included copyright, trademarks and patents, and 93.7 per cent thought it was necessary to protect IP rights in the local business environment, and 98.3 per cent said IP was a firm's valuable asset.
Nearly half (46 per cent) thought the government should play the most important role in reducing IP rights infringement, down from 55.9 per cent in 2006. It was followed by educational institutions (19.1 per cent) and copyright owners (17.8 per cent).
Almost 70 per cent said the department's promotional activities were effective in raising IP protection awareness, up on the 48.3 per cent figure in 2006.
Criminal liability
More than 52 per cent said the most serious consequence for a firm infringing others' IP is criminal liability, up on the 13.3 per cent in 2006. It was followed by civil liability (17.8 per cent) and damage to a company's reputation and goodwill (15.6 per cent).
Nearly half of the respondents were aware of the new criminal liability that directors and partners might incur if their firms possessed pirated software for business use, with 67.7 per cent of them learning this from television or radio and 42.4 per cent from print advertisements in newspapers and magazines.
Trademark registration
On the difference between trademark and company registration, only 35 per cent correctly replied that registering a business or company name was different from registering a trademark. Another 45.7 per cent were unaware they had to apply for separate registration of trademarks, patents or designs on the mainland and in Hong Kong to gain protection in both places.
For the economic benefits of IP rights protection, the majority of firms thought it would help enhance the development of local creative industries (84.5 per cent), create business opportunities and wealth (77.6 per cent) and contribute to the overall development of the local economy (72.3 per cent). The findings were consistent with those in previous surveys.
