At the Mainland and Hong Kong Copyright Criminal Law Seminar on March 31, Commissioner Timothy Tong of Hong Kong Customs and Excise Department said, after the implementation of Copyright Ordinance in 1997, copyright piracy was unequivocally deemed as a crime, thus curbing piracy and infringement effectively.  The number of shops selling pirated compact disks in Hong Kong drops from 1,000 in 1998 to 35 for the time being.

Hong Kong Customs has been relentlessly enforcing IPR laws against different kinds of copyright piracies in the Special Administrative Region by applying specific measures to the four respective links of the supply chain:retail, manufacturing, distribution, import and export.  In response to the elevated sanction on IPR crimes by the newly amended Copyright Ordinance, Hong Kong courts immediately made wrongdoers feel the deterrent.  The percentage of those convicted and serving extended imprisonment term (6 months or above) increases from 30% in 1997 to 70% for the time being.