Judges are handing out longer jail terms to copyright pirates, and Hong Kong's top prosecutor is warning businesses are next.
A law will come into force next year to clamp down on corporations using pirated software in their daily operations.
It is one of several recent initiatives to stamp out piracy dubbed 'drastic, even draconian', but necessary yesterday by Director of Public Prosecutions Grenville Cross, SC.
'We could not allow Hong Kong to acquire the stigma of being a place which tolerated such a [piracy] situation,' he said.
Hong Kong's reputation has improved as a result, he claims - officials in the United States have indicated that the SAR will remain off their 'watch-list' of cities where copyright piracy is rife.
This has partly been possible because Hong Kong courts have recently taken a harsher stance against pirates, Mr Cross explained at an Asian symposium on intellectual property rights.
While two years ago one in three copyright culprits were put behind bars, the figure has increased to six out of 10. The overall number of convicted copyright pirates has also swollen.
