The recommendations of the Task Force for Reprographic Rights Licensing, established under the Heads of Universities Committee (HUCOM), concerning the making of photocopies for private study, research and instruction purposes, have been well received by the government and Legco. Linkage spoke to Mr Patrick Kwong, Director of the University Publications Office and Convenor of the HUCOM Task Force on Reprographic Rights Licensing, about the latest developments in the copyright issue. (See Linkage Nos. 201 and 206 for earlier reports.)

Q. What progress has been made since we last spoke to you?

A. The Task Force is glad to report that the government has indicated unofficially that in the new Copyright Ordinance, scheduled for enactment in July 2003, making copies of printed materials will no longer be a criminal offence. The government has also indicated that instead of confining fair dealing exemptions to private study and research, criticism, review and news reporting, it will consider extending the scope of the fair dealing exemptions along the line of the open-ended approach adopted by the US.

Q. What copying is not allowed?

A. Copying of computer programs, movies, television dramas and musical recordings remains a criminal offence, punishable by law.

Q. Can you tell us something about the guidelines for photocopying printed works?

A. The working group to develop guidelines for photocopying printed works for educational purposes has met seven times between June and September 2002. The first set of guidelines, implemented on 30 September, specify under what conditions teachers can make multiple copies of a certain portion of a copyrighted work for instruction purposes. As such guidelines are new to Hong Kong, we expect there will be reviews and amendments.

Q. What about newspaper articles?

A. They are not included. To date, the Task Force has been unable to come to an agreement with the Hong Kong Copyright Association, which represents local newspapers. We'll discuss the issue further.

Q. What is the meaning of fair dealing?

A. The meaning of fair dealing has not been clarified in the Copyright Ordinance. The Task Force is pushing the government to set up a working group to establish clear guidelines for fair dealing, which we would prefer to be the US-style open-ended fair use system, rather than the more restrictive fair dealing system used by the UK.

The full version of this interview, including details of guidelines for classroom copying, is reproduced on www.ncm2.xyz/cityutoday under Guidelines for Classroom Copying.