The Customs Department had acted on the advice of the Department of Justice in prosecuting a copyright case that was later overturned on appeal because the prosecution was too late, the customs chief argued yesterday.
Last Monday, the Court of First Instance acquitted two defendants who had been convicted in Eastern Court of infringing the copyright of Lucky Technology by selling a fingerprint identification system called iGuard.
The defendants - Thomas Wan Wah-tong and Hectrix Limited - appealed on the basis that the original prosecution should have been dropped as it had not been brought within one year of the 'discovery of the offence', as stipulated under the Copyright Ordinance.
The court decided in favour of the defendants and quashed their convictions.
The lower court had heard that Mr Wan and Hectrix were the sole agents for Lucky Technology between 2001 and 2003.
Lucky Technology's director, Brian Leung Shui-kei, was the inventor and copyright holder of iGuard.