The Copyright Ordinance will be reviewed to consider whether and how legislative amendments might be justified for more effective protection of copyright works in the digital environment, Secretary for Commerce, Industry & Technology John Tsang says, adding a public consultation will be held.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of CASBAA 2005, Mr Tsang said infringement on copyright via the Internet was a key issue for both the industry and the Government.

Stakeholders have been invited to give their views on four issues:

* whether a technologically neutral right of communication should be introduced for copyright owners;

* how to facilitate copyright owners to take civil action against infringing activities on the Internet;

* whether statutory damages for civil infringements should be introduced; and,

* the role of ISPs in the fight against Internet piracy.

"We shall study the relevant legislation in overseas jurisdictions. After completing our study, we shall consult the public on this important subject as soon as possible," Mr Tsang said.

Keen TV competition

On broadcasting industry regulation, Mr Tsang said there has been increasing competition in the provision of television services in Hong Kong.

"There are plans to launch high-definition TV and interactive services. The two free-to-air terrestrial broadcasters are vigorously preparing to switch to digital mode. Live broadcasting to mobile phones is in the pipeline. There are also different strategic alliances among network operators and media companies," he said.

"The cross-sectoral matrix is getting more and more complex. As a result, the regulators nowadays need not only an agile mind, but also cross-boundary vision and profound expertise just to cope with the surface of such challenges."

The Government is considering merging the broadcasting and telecommunications regulators, and changing the regulatory mode from ex-ante to ex-post in order to manage properly the persistent phenomenon of lagging behind the times.