Hong Kong: leading the way

The Intellectual Property Department in Hong Kong is proud of its efforts to create a regional powerhouse for IP and innovation and its campaigns to educate the public. WIPR finds out more.

Developments in digital technology have popularised the streaming and pirating of content. File-sharing websites such as The Pirate Bay and Grooveshark have contributed towards copyright infringement among a new generation of consumers. Combating the popularity of such models can be difficult—convenience competes with respect for copyright—and public opinion can even turn against intellectual property rights. 

But in Hong Kong at least, the Intellectual Property Department (IPD) says it is seeing a steady rise in the awareness of and respect for IP rights among the country’s population.

Every year the office holds a survey on the popularity of IP rights. The results of last year’s instalment were released in March and, according to Ada Leung, director of the IPD, the outlook is good. She says the results from the latest survey “revealed that the awareness of IP rights remains high among the general public in Hong Kong”, adding that “the awareness of such protection in the digital environment is also increasing and more members of the general public will pay and download copyright works from authorised websites”.