Customs Smashed an Underground Illegal Photocopying Workshop cum Launching Ceremony of “Reward Scheme to Combat Illegal Photocopying of Books”

Date: 12/10/2005

Customs Smashed an Underground Illegal Photocopying Workshop

Following up on a complaint from the public, Customs officers from the Intellectual Property Investigation Bureau have smashed an underground illegal photocopying workshop and a storage in 2 domestic premises in Sai Wan Ho yesterday (October 12).

Customs officers seized 1,510 infringing photocopies of textbooks and 3 photocopying machines. The total seizure was worth about $200,000.

2 men aged 37 and 39 respectively and an 18-year-old woman were arrested.

The 37-year-old man being arrested was the proprietor of a photocopy shop located in a nearby shopping arcade.

“The shop tried to escape from Customs enforcement by setting up an underground illegal photocopying workshop in a nearby domestic premises”, a Customs and Excise Department spokesman said today (October 13).

On the other hand, Customs mounted a territory-wide anti-illegal photocopying operation today. Customs officers searched 9 photocopy shops and seized 4 infringing reprographic copies of books and 1 photocopying machine in a shop in Chai Wan. The seizure value is about $ 10,000. A 40-year-old woman was arrested. The operation is still in progress.

Launching Ceremony of “Reward Scheme to Combat Illegal Photocopying of Books”

“Subsequent to Customs’ continuous and prolonged efforts on fighting against illegal photocopying activities, it is observed that some of these illegal photocopying activities have been shifted to “underground” mode, such as inside domestic and industrial premises, in order to evade Customs’ enforcement action”, the spokesman explained, “Therefore, in encouraging the public to provide information on activities involving illegal photocopying of books, especially on those “underground” activities, a “Reward Scheme to Combat Illegal Photocopying of Books” has been set up on 13th October 2005.”

The Reward Scheme is financed by the Hong Kong Reprographic Rights Licensing Society (HKRRLS) and administered by the Hong Kong Customs. The basic requirements for the payment of reward are:
1) the book(s) being illegally photocopied is(are) published by publishers participating in the Reward Scheme;
2) the illegal photocopying activities are not taken place at premises providing photocopying services openly to the public.

Subject to the fulfillment of the above requirements, reward money shall be payable to a person providing information at the following rates:-

Payment of HK$5,000: information leading to the arrest of any person and seizure of 1 to 3 copying machines and at least 20 illegal photocopies of books in any one operation

Payment of HK$10,000: information leading to the arrest of any person and seizure of 4 to 10 copying machines and at least 20 illegal photocopies of books in any one operation

Payment of HK$20,000: information leading to the arrest of any person and seizure of more than 10 copying machines and at least 100 illegal photocopies of books in any one operation

Members of the public can provide information by mail or through the Customs 24-hours hotline 2545 6182. All information of the informants will be kept confidential.

Acting Assistant Commissioner (Intelligence and Investigation), Mr. TAM Yiu-keung, and The Chairman of Hong Kong Reprographic Rights Licensing Society, Mr. Fred Armantrout, signed the agreement to launch the reward scheme at the conference room of the Intellectual Property Investigation Bureau at 4 pm. today.

Under the Copyright Ordinance, it is an offence for a person to possess, for the purpose of or in the course of a profit-making copying service business, an infringing copy of a copyright work as published in a book, magazine or periodical. The maximum penalty is a fine of $50,000 per infringing copy and four years' imprisonment.

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