Hong Kong Customs and the National Copyright Administration of China (NCAC) signed a Cooperation Arrangement Friday to improve cooperation on the protection of on-line copyright.

Under the Arrangement, both parties agreed to cooperate in copyright protection within the ambit of their respective laws, powers and resources, and to provide administrative assistance to each other to protect the interests of copyright owners in the on-line environment.

They also agreed to meet regularly to discuss and exchange ideas on matters relating to the execution of the Arrangement when necessary.

Assistant Commissioner Tam Yiu-keung, representing HK Customs to sign the Arrangement, thanked the NCAC for the support and assistance rendered to Hong Kong Customs in on-line piracy investigations.

"Some of the on-line piracy cases foiled by Hong Kong Customs involved websites on the mainland," he said.

"Last week, Hong Kong Customs arrested two persons in two Internet piracy cases involving the uploading and distribution of infringing songs on the Internet with some of them originating from mainland websites."

"The successful detection of the cases highlighted the importance of close cooperation between the two parties in the fight against on-line piracy," he said.

The six-member NCAC delegation led by Director General of the Copyright Division Wang Ziqiang, visited the Intellectual Property Investigation Bureau of Hong Kong Customs, the Intellectual Property Department, and met some representatives from the recreational industry to understand their work in copyright protection.