Lawyers warn of copyright pitfalls for the public at Hong Kong conference

Thinking of buying a counterfeit handbag? Looking to illegally download the latest hit from your favourite artist? Considering digitally altering a leading brand's logo and to create a satirical message? You could leave yourself open to legal action, intellectual property lawyers attending a conference in Hong Kong say.

"It is necessary to clean up the marketplace and restore order," says Loke Khoon Tan, a partner at Hong Kong firm Baker & McKenzie. "A lot of money is being invested in brands. We have to protect companies for their efforts in research and development."

Tan was speaking at his firm's annual Luxury and Fashion Industry Conference at a hotel in Admiralty. Among the issues up for debate was how companies can protect their intellectual property rights.

There may be some cases where people get angry because we don't go after the manufacturers but instead target those who trade in counterfeit goods, Tan said. "One reason is that manufacturers are difficult to find, so our initiatives will focus on the counterfeiters and parties that assist them."

In some extreme cases, companies will go after consumers who illegally download copyrighted music files, said Lothar Determann, a data privacy expert with Baker and McKenzie's international and commercial group.

Going after consumers who buy counterfeit goods is also an option under consideration, the lawyers say, although it is unlikely to be pursued on the mainland, as many consumers there might argue that they did not know that the goods were counterfeit.