Hong Kong's creative minds have joined forces to demand that the government rethink the controversial copyright amendment bill and listen to the needs of artists in drafting the law.
Representatives of the arts and cultural community said yesterday that the government had only sought opinions from a commercial perspective, while artists who created works the law is supposed to protect have not been consulted.
At present, copyright theft is only a criminal offence if it is done for profit or has a significant impact on the copyright holder. The bill would extend that definition, and some campaigners fear it could criminalise works of satire, parody or tribute. Its passage through the Legislative Council has been delayed for two to three weeks after a lawmaker tabled more then 1,300 amendments.
'The cultural perspective must be taken into account, but Hong Kong's discussion of the copyright law has never considered cultural factors,' said veteran lyricist Calvin Poon Yuen-leung.
'Why is this law only looked after by the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau? asked Poon. 'Shouldn't it be discussed later when the culture bureau [proposed by chief executive-elect Leung Chun-ying] is set up?' Poon last month won the best original song prize at the Hong Kong Film Awards.
More than 30 artists attended a press conference yesterday to express concerns about the law's impact on creative freedom. Many said they were unable to fully comprehend the implications of the law.
Composer Adrian Chow said he struggled to understand the law, despite having studied law at university. 'That's why it needs to be discussed carefully,' he said.
