Internet users may face criminal prosecution for sharing copyrighted material on the Web if proposed amendments to the Copyright Ordinance become law, industry representatives say.
The Internet Professional Association called for a balance between protecting intellectual property rights and the ability of internet users to share copyrighted material to some extent.
A paper submitted to the Legislative Council in November said the government would 'consider bringing in appropriate exceptions to facilitate the reasonable use of copyrighted works'.
However, the vice-chairman of the association's policy committee, Paul Fung Tak-chung, said the criminalisation of online copyright infringement was taking it a step too far, especially if such violations were not clearly defined.
Association vice-president Dr Eric Cheng Kam-chung said people often posted links to videos or pictures or cited parts of an article on discussion forums to exchange ideas or express their opinions, without the intention of making a profit.
Without a clear definition, these people may fall into the trap of committing an offence, Cheng said.