Copyright
What is copyright?
Broadly, copyright is a right to prevent unauthorised parties from copying a "copyright" work. Copyright may subsist in a variety of works, including literary, artistic, musical and dramatic works, sound recordings, films, computer software, television, sound broadcasts and performer's rights. In most cases, copyright will subsist automatically in a work, provided that it is original (in the sense that it is not a copy of an existing work) and it has taken a degree of skill, labour and effort to create.
Who is the copyright owner in a copyright work?
Generally speaking, the first owner of copyright is the author. If the copyright work was created by an employee during the course of his employment, his employer will usually be the first copyright owner. Where a copyright work is made pursuant to a reward commission, the first copyright owner will usually be the person specified to be the owner in the agreement. However, the person who commissioned the work generally has an exclusive licence to exploit the commissioned work and has the power to restrain any exploitation of the work in certain circumstances.
Do I have to register my copyright?
No. There are no formal registration requirements for copyright in the Hong Kong SAR. Copyright subsists automatically upon creation.
How long does copyright protection last?
This depends on the copyright work. For literary, musical, artistic or dramatic works, copyright protection generally lasts for the life of the author plus 50 years. For sound recordings, copyright protection lasts for 50 years from the year in which the sound recording was made or released. For films, copyright protection lasts for 50 years calculated from the last date of death of either the principal director, the author of the screenplay, the author of the dialogue or the composer of the music specially created for and used in the film. For broadcasts and cable programmes, copyright protection generally lasts for 50 years from the date of the broadcast or the date upon which the programme was included in a cable programme service.
What rights does a copyright owner have?
A copyright owner is conferred a bundle of rights which enables the copyright owner to commercially exploit his copyright work. Accordingly, a copyright owner can, amongst other things, prevent others from copying his copyright work, publishing his copyright work on the Internet, translating or adapting his copyright work, and performing his copyright work.
Depending on the nature of the infringement, copyright owners may be able to rely on civil or criminal provisions against a third party infringer.
