HK defends fame as 'shopping paradise' for genuine goods

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Sunday, February 15, 2004

HK defends fame as 'shopping paradise' for genuine goods

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Hong Kong's Intellectual Property Department (IPD) will re-launch the "No Fakes Pledge Scheme" and invite more retail outlets, including those in the travel industry, to sign up this March, in an effort to attract more overseas travelers.

Those who have pledged to sell genuine goods under the scheme will have a "No Fakes" sticker displayed in their shop windows.

The re-launch of the "No Fakes Pledge Scheme" and the establishment of the Intellectual Property Rights Protection Alliance next month are the two major initiatives in the newly launched campaign "Hong Kong - The Real Experience".

Hong Kong Customs, IPD, tourism-related bodies, consumer protection agency and owners of intellectual property rights, showed their commitment to promoting Hong Kong's image as a shopping paradise for genuine goods by pooling their resources to roll out new measures and a series of publicity programs starting Saturday.

The Customs will form the Intellectual Property Rights Protection Alliance with the copyright and trademark industry. Under the alliance, different sectors of the industry will pledge to work together to protect intellectual property rights and help the Customs to combat counterfeiting and piracy through a closely knitted network built up for market surveillance, information exchange and reporting of suspected cases.

In 2004, Customs officers will step up enforcement against trademark counterfeiting through persistent and focused raids at the black spots for selling counterfeit goods as well as launchingintelligence-led operations to root out the syndicates operating at source. The Customs is committed to the protection of intellectual property rights and has been taking vigorous enforcement actions against counterfeiting activities.

The Customs detected 641 cases involving offenses about trademark counterfeiting and arrested 707 persons in 2003 in connection with seizures of counterfeit goods amounting to a totalvalue of 169 million HK dollars (21.77 million US dollars). In 2002, 669 cases were detected and 626 persons arrested with seizures valued at 122 million HK dollars (15.71 million US dollars) in total.

Permanent Secretary for Commerce, Industry and Technology Denise Yue said earlier this week that the government would develop new tourist spots and organize various activities to promote Hong Kong's tourism industry.

In addition, she said the government would also strengthen the protection of intellectual property rights in order to boost travelers' confidence in shopping in Hong Kong.

As a result, Yue said, this would encourage tourists to come toHong Kong more often to spend and recommend their relatives to do shopping in Hong Kong.

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