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Exceptions or Permitted Acts

A number of exceptions permits limited use of copyright works without the permission of the copyright owner. For example, limited use of works may be possible for research and private study, criticism or review, reporting news ('fair dealing'), judicial proceedings, teaching in schools and other educational establishments . In the latter situation, copying within 'reasonable extent'.

Copying large amounts of material and/or making multiple copies cannot be an exception and thus need permission. Also where a copyright exception covers publication of excerpts from a copyright work, it is generally necessary to include an acknowledgement. Sometimes more than one exception may apply to the use you are thinking of.

It is important to remember that just owning a copy of a copyright work does not give you permission to use it in a way that would infringe copyright. If your use of a copyright work does not involve using a substantial part, then you will not be infringing copyright. But it is important to remember that even very small parts of a copyright work may count as a substantial part. Exceptions to copyright do not generally give you rights to use copyright material; they just state that certain activities do not infringe copyright. So it is possible that an exception could be overridden by a contract you have agreed limiting your ability to do things that would otherwise fall within the scope of an exception. Therefore, reviewing the terms of the licence is necessary for making a decision.

Moral Rights of Author

Moral rights are owned by the authors of literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works and to film directors:

· Right of Attribution: to be identified as the author of the work or director of the film in certain circumstances, e.g. when copies are issued to the public
· Right to Object Derogatory Treatment: to object to derogatory treatment of the work or film which amounts to a distortion or mutilation or is otherwise prejudicial to the honour or reputation of the author or director

Moral rights are serve the purpose of protecting the personality and reputation of authors. These are called non-economic rights.

The right to be identified cannot be exercised unless it has been asserted, i.e. the author or director has indicated their wish to exercise the right by giving notice to this effect (which generally has to be in writing and signed) to those seeking to use or exploit the work or film. Moreover, both the right to be identified and the right to object to derogatory treatment can be waived by the author or director.

Moral rights are not assignable. There are also several situations in which these rights do not apply:

· computer programs
· where ownership of a work originally vested in an author's employer
· where material is used in newspapers or magazines
· reference works such as encyclopaedias or dictionaries

Authors of literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works and film directors are given the moral right not to have a work or film falsely attributed to them.

Enforcement of Copyright

Copyright is essentially a private right so decisions about how to enforce the rights, that is what to do when the copyright work is used without permission, are generally for the copyright owner to take. Where the work has been used without permission and none of the exceptions to copyright apply, copyright is said to be infringed. Although the copyright owner is not obliged to do so, it will usually be sensible, and save time and money, to try to resolve the matter with the party who has infringed the copyright. Indeed, in some cases it may be necessary to demonstrate to a court that the plaintiff tried to solve the matter by mediation or arbitration if the plaintiff wishes the court to consider awarding you the best available remedy including an award covering your costs.

If the copyright owner cannot resolve the issue with the other party, then going to court may be the right solution, but it would be a good idea to seek legal advice at an early stage, and certainly you should consider this very seriously before going to court. One of the many organisations representing copyright owners may also be able to give you advice, or sometimes act on your behalf if you are a member.

Where a copyright owner brings a case of copyright infringement before the courts, a full range of civil remedies are available, such as:

· injunctions served against the infringer or alleged infringer (to stop that person making further infringing use of the material);
· damages (usual damages and additional damages) for infringement awarded to the copyright owner;
· orders to deliver up infringing goods to the copyright owner.

Deliberate, intentional or wilful infringement of copyright on a commercial scale may give rise to additional remedies.

Economic Rights of Copyright Owners

Copyright owners generally have the right to authorise or prohibit any of the following things in relation to their works. The Copyright Ordinance refers as 'restricted acts':

1. copying the work in any way. For example, photocopying, reproducing a printed page by handwriting, typing or scanning into a computer, and taping live or recorded music are all forms of copying

2. issuing copies of the work to the public. However, once a copy has legally been put into circulation anywhere in Hong Kong, this right cannot be used to prevent further sale of that copy, although rental and lending of computer program or sounding recording can still be controlled by the copyright owner

3. renting or lending copies of the work to the public, in case they are computer program or sound recordings

4. performing, showing or playing the work in public. Obvious examples are performing plays, playing sound recordings and showing films or videos in public. But this right also includes public delivery of lectures, speeches and the like, and letting a broadcast be seen or heard in public also involves performance of music and other copyright material contained in the broadcast

5. broadcasting the work or including it in a cable programme service i.e. cable television programmes

6. making an adaptation of the work, such as by translating a literary or dramatic work, transcribing a musical work and

7. converting a computer program into a different computer language or code

Copyright is infringed when any of the above acts are done without authorisation, whether directly or indirectly and whether the whole or a substantial part of a work, unless what is done falls within the scope of exceptions to copyright permitting certain minor uses of material.

Owner of Copyright

In the case of a literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work, the general rule is that the author, i.e. the person who created the work, is the first owner of the economic rights under copyright. However, where such a work is made in the course of employment, the employer is the first owner of these rights, unless an agreement to the contrary has been made with the author.

In the case of a film, the principal director and the film producer are joint authors and first owners of the economic rights, and similar provisions as referred to above apply where the director is employed.

In the case of a sound recording the author and first owner of copyright is the record producer; in the case of a broadcast, the broadcaster; and in the case of a published edition, the publisher.

Copyright is, however, a form of property which, like physical property, can be bought or sold, inherited or otherwise transferred, wholly or in part. So, some or all of the economic rights may subsequently belong to someone other than the first owner. In contrast, the moral rights accorded to authors of literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works and film directors remain with the author or director or pass to his or her heirs on death.

Copyright in material produced by a Government department belongs to the Hong Kong Government. The Legislative Council also owns the works produced by it.

Benefits of copyright to its owner

Copyright is a property right. That is expressly provided in the Copyright Ordinance.

It is just like any other real property or chattels that one may own. A copyright owner must decide how to exploit his copyright work and how to enforce his copyright. He can decide whether or not there will be any use of the copyright work falling within the scope of the economic rights and, if so, whether he or she will use the copyright work and/or license one or more other people to use the work.

A copyright owner can also benefit from copyright by selling or agreeing a transfer of copyright to someone else. This is called assignment.

Many of the options available to a copyright owner will involve contractual agreements which may be just as important as the rights provided by copyright law. The right contractual agreement can minimise the chances of a dispute over use of the copyright work. This is called licence. Licence is limited in scope (e.g. book version), duration (e.g. 3 years) and territory (e.g. Asia). A licence can be exclusive or non-exclusive although in most cases, it is exclusive within a limited scope.

A copyright owner may have his copyright assigned to another person or corporation in return for a price and royalties.

Copyright is automatic, registration not required

Copyright protection is automatic as soon as there is a record in any form of what has been created (there is no official registration). Such is called the requirement of 'fixation'. The usual media of fixation are paper, tape, video tape, electronic or digital recording devices such as computer hard disk, optial disk, CD and floppy disk.

When copyright material is published many would mark the work with the international copyright symbol c followed by the name of the copyright owner and year of publication. This is not essential in Hong Kong, but may assist the copyright owner in infringement proceedings, and will be needed in certain foreign countries.

How long does copyright protection last?

The term of protection or duration of copyright varies depending on the type of copyright work.

Generally speaking, the terms of protection in Hong Kong are as follows:
· Copyright in a literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work lasts for the life of the author and 50 years from the end of the year in which he/she died.
· Copyright in a film expires 50 years after the end of the year in which the death occurs of the last to survive of the principal director, the authors of the screenplay and dialogue, and the composer of any music specially created for the film.
· Copyright in a sound recording expires 50 years from the end of the year in which it was made or, if released in this time, 50 years from the end of the year of release.
· Copyright in a broadcast or cable programme expires 50 years from the end of the year of making of the broadcast or inclusion of the cable programme in a cable programme service.
Copyright in a published edition expires 25 years from the end of the year in which the edition was first published.

What are 'copyright works'?

Copyright gives rights to the authors of the following kinds of "works":

· literary works - for example, novels, newspaper articles, lyrics for songs, and instruction manuals. Computer programs are also a form of literary work protected by copyright, as are some types of databases

· dramatic works, including works of dance or mime

· musical works

· artistic works - for example, paintings, drawings, engravings, sculptures, photographs, diagrams, maps, works of architecture and works of artistic craftsmanship

· published editions of literary, dramatic or musical works. Protection in this case is of the typographical arrangement of the edition sound recordings, in any form (e.g. tape or compact disc) - they can be recordings of other copyright works, such as music or literature, or other sounds films, including videos and digital video discs (DVDs)

· broadcasts and cable programmes, including satellite and encrypted broadcasts

Material protected by copyright is called a "copyright work".

Copyright does not protect ideas, or such things as names or titles.

The purpose of copyright is to allow authors to gain economic rewards for their efforts. By providing the authors with the 'exclusivity', it encourages future creativity and the development of new material. Most uses of copyright material therefore require permission from the copyright owner. The exclusivity is enshrined in 'acts restricted by copyright' under s.22 Copyright Ordinance.

There are exceptions to copyright protections. Those exceptions permits uses without the need of obtaining the copyright owner's consent. These are referred as 'Acts permitted in relation to copyright works' under Division III of the Copyright Ordinance.

Copyright protection is automatic as soon as there is a record in any form of the material that has been created, and there is no official registration or form or fee. That is the requirement of the famous Berne Convention to which Hong Kong is a member.