The effectiveness of Hong Kong Law on antipirate relating to Information technology - Essay Example

In the 1990s, Hong Kong was the piracy capital of Asia, if not even the world. Compared to literature, music and movies, computer software is a comparatively new type of intellectual property. It is universally accepted that information technology piracy is protected by patent, trademarks and copyright laws, therefore the relevant legislation are to be studied to determine if there are any shortcomings, and also the other underlying factors which contribute to this phenomenon of piracy in Hong Kong are investigated before any conclusions are to be drawn.

However, software is protected under the very similar legislations that administer music, literature, movies and other copyrighted content. Copying software illegally is not any different than illegally copying any of these forms of intellectual property - and the punishments for doing so are equally harsh (Anti-Piracy). Pirated software could be bought openly, cheaply and safely everywhere from the Golden Shopping Arcade (GSA) and Computer 33 Plaza in Shumshuipo to the "Internet Zone" at Whampoa Gardens and the Sinoplaza in the Mong Kok section of Kowloon (Wong, 2005).

Hong Kong retail information technology and computer software piracy was also found in cyberspace. In August of 1996, the Business Software Alliance (BSA), working closely with the Alliance Against CD-ROM Theft (AACT), closed down an Internet site called Sammy Game Center, which offered illegal CD-ROM products for sale and export to the United States, the Netherlands, Sweden and Canada, via the net. Over the past several years, advances in computer software have brought us time-saving business programs, educational software that teaches basic skills and sophisticated subjects, graphics programs that have revolutionized the design industry, Internet applications that help connect us with other computer users, and an increasingly complex variety of computer games to entertain us (Pramog).

As the software industry grows, everyone stands to benefit (Anti-Piracy).The areas of the law which specifically applies to information technology and computer software are closely looked into, and the types of legal remedies on offer are mentioned. The various other factors which affect information technology and software piracy are also discussed. It is noted that the various areas which affects the efficient enforcement of the legislation and explores the reasons why policing of anti-piracy laws are so problematic are also elaborately identified.

It is attempts to provide solutions to tackling this problem of information technology related piracy. The purpose of this research paper is to examine the various factors which affect different kinds piracy related to the information technology in Hong Kong, with the aim of hoping to understand the reasons behind such activities, and attempts to suggest ways of tackling the problem. Generally speaking, a piracy in IT dector is someone who copies a program that is normally sold for a price but without paying for using it.

There are different existing piracy scales which been mainly used for examination the effectiveness of anti-pirate