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Representatives of the Hong Kong Video Development Foundation Ltd (¡°HKVDF¡±) and the Alliance of the Rental Industry (¡°the Alliance¡±) reached consensus at a meeting arranged by the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau today (February 25) on issues relating to a proposed licensing scheme, which will come into play when provisions pertaining to rental rights for films, as provided for in the Copyright (Amendment) Ordinance 2007 are brought into operation.
At the meeting, HKVDF, representing 11 video disc distributors informed the Alliance that, having regard to the concerns raised by the industry and some legislators, they agreed to implement the licensing scheme in a progressive manner so as to allow time for easing the market¡¯s adjustment process. The Alliance welcomed the final package as proposed by HKVDF, which includes the followings:
(1) set the initial ceiling for rental licence fee at 130% of the retail version, i.e. the level as suggested by the Alliance;
(2) maintain the above ceiling for one year, allowing the relevant parties to adapt to the new changes and to provide more time for the market to adjust;
(3) cancel the requirement regarding deposit; and
(4) issue rental version of the films whenever the distributors could secure the rental rights from copyright owners.
Permanent Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development (Commerce, Industry and Tourism), Miss Yvonne Choi, was pleased to note that a consensus could be reached at today¡¯s meeting. She thanked both parties for their hard work over the past few months so that the rental provisions could be implemented on April 25 as scheduled.
She said, ¡°Rental rights for films would be beneficial to society as a whole. Apart from being a testimony of our respect for intellectual property, it would give the movie industry added impetus: a better regulated rental market, together with other measures that promote the healthy development of the movie industry, would help drive the sustained growth of the creative industry.¡±
¡°I in particular thank HKVDF for demonstrating goodwill during the discussions, without which implementation of the rental rights provision could not move forward.¡±
Miss Choi hoped that both parties would work hand in hand to bring about a more robust rental market for movies, ultimately achieving a win-win situation.
At the meeting today, the Alliance mentioned about the future mechanism for adjusting the rental licence fee. Meeting attendees agreed that the fee level should ultimately be decided by the market.
Apart from HKVDF and the Alliance, a representative of Consumer Council also attended the meeting.
Ends/Monday, February 25, 2008
Issued at HKT 21:22
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