Customs officers yesterday (May 28) conducted a territory-wide operation code-named “Intruder” to crack down on retail activities involving the modification of game consoles to enable customers to play pirated games on the hardware.
In raids against seven shops in Wan Chai, Sham Shui Po, Fanling and Tuen Mun, officers of the Intellectual Property Investigation Bureau seized 29 sets of game consoles with circumvention devices and related accessories. The seizure was worth about $110,000.
They also arrested seven men and a woman, aged 19 to 46, including three shop owners.
Customs conducted intensive investigation after receiving six reports made by the public. Apart from keeping a close watch on the game consoles put on sale at the shops concerned to monitor whether they have contravened the new provisions of the Copyright (Amendment) Ordinance 2007, Customs and Excise Department works closely with relevant copyright owners.
The support from copyright owners, including their technical assistance was essential to effective Customs’ law enforcement.
The Government has introduced new provisions to the Copyright (Amendment) Ordinance 2007 imposing criminal liabilities on people who deal in circumvention devices or provide a circumvention service for commercial purposes. The new provision has become effective since April 25, 2008.
Under the Copyright (Amendment) Ordinance 2007, any person who makes, imports, exports circumvention device for sale or hire, deals in circumvention device, or provides a commercial circumvention service commits a criminal offence. The maximum penalty for the offence is a fine of $500,000 and an imprisonment for four years.
Ends/Thursday, May 29, 2008