Officials have admitted it is 'extremely hard' to control copyright infringement on the Internet. Acting Secretary for Trade and Industry Cheung Siu-hing said curbing such offences in Hong Kong was made difficult by the changing nature of the Web. 'The Internet is not divided by national boundaries, and legislation in Hong Kong can only target incidents within our boundary, not copyright infringement committed overseas. 'It is extremely difficult to tackle these kinds of activities,' she said. However, the Government said existing measures were adequate. These included increased communication and co-operation with copyright owners and Internet service providers, stepped up Customs operations, closer liaison with international law enforcement agencies and the strengthening of education campaigns. In the first 10 months of 1999, the Customs and Excise Department received five complaints about Internet copyright infringement. Ms Cheung said that even if channels of criminal prosecution were exhausted, copyright owners could bring cases through civil actions.
