The Protection of Intellectual Property Rights on the Internet Creative Competition, jointly organised by the Customs and Excise Department (C&ED) and the Intellectual Property Rights Protection Alliance (IPRPA), was launched today (May 4) to promote respect for intellectual property rights (IPR) on the Internet and to cultivate positive values among youngsters.
Members of the Youth Ambassador Against Internet Piracy Scheme (YAS), aged from 15 to 18, are invited to join the competition by submitting proposals with creative ideas on IPR enforcement and education.
Head of the Intellectual Property Investigation Bureau, Mr Albert Ho, said: "Fighting against infringing activities on the Internet is one of the department's main duties. Apart from providing training to our officers and developing high-tech systems for Internet crime investigation with the help of universities, we also focus on cultivating the awareness of respecting IPR among youngsters. In the long run, we hope this can further enhance our society's overall awareness of creativity and IPR."
Convenor of the IPRPA's Working Committee, Mr Ho Wai-hung, expressed his full support for the competition. He said: "The education on and promotion of respect for IPR is a very important and meaningful long-term investment for our society. As one of the members of the IPR industry, I am glad to know that many members of the IPRPA support and sponsor the event. We all hope that our younger generation can benefit from the activities."
Commandant of the Hong Kong Adventure Corps, Mr Pau Chi-leung, said: "This activity will broaden the horizons of youth ambassadors, simulate their critical thinking, and encourage creativity. I think all youth uniformed groups will participate actively in this activity which promotes positive values, and will bring us excellent proposals."
The competition is open for submission of entries from today to June 14. Detailed information and an entry form have been uploaded on the IPRPA's website (www.iprpa.org.hk). Judges including representatives of youth uniformed groups, IPRPA and C&ED, will select the best entries based on the theme, feasibility of proposals and their creativity.
Eleven winners of the competition will join a study tour to Japan in late August to deepen their understanding of the work and contributions of intellectual property protection at Japanese institutions through visits and cultural exchange. They will share their experiences with other members of their youth uniformed groups when they return to Hong Kong, to further promote the importance of intellectual property rights in the society.
Established by the C&ED and the IPR industry in 2004, the IPRPA has organised various activities to promote respect for IPR and to eradicate counterfeiting and infringing activities. The alliance has 67 members from IPR-related organisations and professions.
The YAS was established in 2006 by Hong Kong Customs. Some 200,000 members of 11 local youth uniformed organisations were recruited as members of the scheme. The strong alliance is supported by the Intellectual Property Department and seven copyright owner organisations. Apart from monitoring infringing activities on the Internet, the youth ambassadors also help to promote and publicise the importance of IPR. The scheme encourages the members to serve as examples to others by refusing to get involved in infringing and counterfeiting activities. To contribute to the protection of IPR, members of the scheme also share positive values about IPR with their friends and family.
Ends/Tuesday, May 4, 2010