Political parodies and internet mash-ups may be exempted from copyright law

Political parodies and "mash-ups" made from combinations of other works could be granted exemption under the latest government-proposed revisions to the controversial copyright law.

Officials say special treatment for the so-called "secondary creations" could be considered as long as they were not for profit or did not involve substantial copying of the original work.

The latest proposals follow a four-month public consultation which ended in November last year.

The consultation was held to address internet users' concerns that the Copyright Ordinance could threaten freedom of expression.

Parodies, mash-ups and altered pictures are increasingly popular on social media.

Supporters argue the techniques use copyrighted work to convey new messages.

But individual pieces would still have to pass scrutiny before being exempted from the law.