A series of publicity and educational campaigns to enhance the public's awareness of the protection of intellectual property rights (IPR) were launched in Hong Kong yesterday.

The move was seen as the Hong Kong government's firm commitment to fighting Internet piracy, including through illegal uploading and downloading.

Speaking at the launch ceremony, Joseph W P Wong, secretary for commerce, industry and technology, urged the community, in particular young people, to respect IPR to enable Hong Kong to remain a world city where creativity can flourish.

Part of the government's continuous efforts to combat IPR violations, the campaigns were co-organized by the Commerce, Industry and Technology Bureau, Intellectual Property Department (IPD), Customs and Excise Department among other bodies.

The campaigns included the Youth Ambassador Against Internet Piracy Scheme, which will roll out in July. Under the scheme, more than 200,000 youths from 11 local organizations will participate as Youth Ambassadors. Customs and Excise will set up a purpose-built web site for them to report suspected copyright infringement and forward the information to relevant government agencies for follow-up.

IPD has produced two new TV and radio announcements, featuring famous artists Jacky Cheung and Simon Yam. The APIs, which were also released yesterday, aim to remind people that unlawful activities on the Internet could be tracked down and were punishable.

The Education and Manpower Bureau will also prepare a teaching kit aimed at encouraging students to adopt a proper attitude and manner of handling copyrighted work on the Internet.

(Xinhua News Agency May 30, 2006)